A New Beginning, A New Adventure
by Deviltrigger Dante
Summary: Old and new allies, old and new enemies and romance is in the air...After he has fulfilled his vengeance, Uchiha Sasuke ends up in a totally different world where he fights along side the Avatar to bring balance to the world again. Sasuke x Ty Lee
1. The Beginning

_Afternoon on Kyoshi Island…_

"You have improved. Your master taught you well." Zuko commented as he swept his blades back into their sheaths while he waited for Sokka to regain his breath. "But your endurance is horrible."

"Thanks…for the backhanded compliment." Sokka huffed as he snatched his sword, sticking from the ground, which Zuko had disarmed from him. "Another round?" Zuko shrugged before unsheathing his two Dao again.

"Alright." And they were fighting again.

"Wow! They are really at it today!" Ty Lee said to Suki while munching away on her lunch. The four of them had decided to hang out on the beach until Aang and the others arrived for the 3rd anniversary of the Avatar defeating the former firelord Ozai. Every year since the defeat of the firelord, the friends met at a different place of each of their adventures. This year they decided to hold their celebration on Kyoshi Island.

Right now the two girls were under the shade of an umbrella as they ate their lunch and watched the two boys fight.

"Yeah, but you know Zuko doesn't visit here often, so Sokka would have to jump at every chance to face the Fire lord in a spar." Suki replied to the younger girl's exclamation as she watched as Zuko nearly disarmed the Water tribesman's sword again.

Suddenly there was a gust of wind and the four of them stopped what they were doing as they gazed at a huge sky bison, Aang's bison, land on the shore.

"Hey, what's up everyone?!" Aang shouted happily as he, Katara, Toph, and Iroh slid from Appa's saddle to the sand.

"Doing great thank you." Sokka said as he put his sword up. Suki, Zuko, and Ty Lee nodded their agreement before continuing what they were doing.

"Hello, Nephew. Why didn't you invite me to come with you?" Iroh asked as he clapped Zuko on the back. "I really wanted to taste the Kyoshi Island's tea again you know."

"I'm sorry, Uncle. I thought you might be busy with your tea shop being so popular and all so I came here alone." Zuko replied.

"Ah, I have one of my White Lotus friends taking care of it right now. But why didn't you bring Mai? I'm sure she would have been happy to see her friend again." Iroh finished as he gestured toward Ty Lee who was happily babbling with everyone while she finished her food.

Zuko scratched his head thoughtfully. "Well I not going to be here long, it's just for the anniversary."

"Let's lie down and just wait for the Comet to pass by, it's pretty and I'm exhausted from the trip." Katara said before plopping down onto the sand.

"Not long to wait then really." Zuko said absently, pointing out the Comet to her.

Suddenly, "Hey what's that?!" Sokka yelled out excitedly, his eyes wide. He pointed to a part of the sky where it seemed to swirl and twist as if the fabrics of the heavens were being ripped apart. Then a figure emerged from the opening, falling. As the sky slowly returned to its normal dusky undisturbed colors of the afternoon, the figure crashed into the sea where the sea serpent that had nearly eaten Aang lurked.

"Hey! We have to help that guy!" cried Ty Lee, even before her outburst Aang was charging toward the waters. But it was too late. The serpent burst out of the sea behind the hooded figure roaring as the person got to his feet seeming to 'stand on the water as if it were solid ground. The figure swept the hood back as he turned from his spectators to the problem at hand, revealing hair spiked at the back; he looked into the serpents eyes and miraculously the serpent sank back into the sea.

_.............._

As he stumbled toward the shore line, Sasuke saw the group of people wide-eyed and mouths agape as he approached. He reached the shoreline before collapsing exhaustedly into the sand. His battle with Uchiha Madara had really been tiring but afterward when he had stabbed the old wretch, the founding Uchiha had to send him to another world as his last 'gift' to Sasuke.

_.............._

The Group stood around the tired individual looking concerned.

"Is he alright?" Katara asked. "He looks dead."

"Nah, he's not dead I can feel his heartbeat." Toph replied matter-of-factly. "And I think he can hear you." A grunt from the figure lying in the sand confirmed her statement.

"Oh."

Ty Lee stared at the cloaked teen. He wore a black cloak with a hood and red clouds decorating the outside while the inside was velvet red. He wore all black underneath and a katana was strapped to his waist. Remembering that he had made a serpent do his bidding, she asked the question in everyone's mind, "Who are you?"

_.............._

Sasuke tilted his head, as he lay on the sand, when he heard the question. He opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings before answering the pretty girl.

"I'm Uchiha…Uchiha Sasuke." Then he passed out.


	2. A Second Chance

**Dont' own it.**

As Sasuke fell into unconsciousness he heard snatches of conversation among the people that had gathered around him.

"Uchiha Sasuke…?" Someone asked, he had a deep voice so Sasuke deduced that it must be the old man among the group. "Not a very common name around here. I doubt he is even from the 4 Nations."

"Well he did fall from the sky. I don't think he's from this world. Can we trust him though? He might be a criminal on the run." said another, cautiously.

"Stop being paranoid, Sokka. The War has been over for years." There was a slap and an "Ow!".

"And besides, even if he is a runaway we can't just leave him here. I'm sure he has a good reason for doing what he did…if he is a criminal."

At that point, the voices became incomprehensible and distant as the last Uchiha drifted deeper into sleep.

_.............._

It has been a week since the GAang met Sasuke, and the teen was still in a comatose state. Though Ty Lee didn't blame him, after facing whatever ordeal happened in his world then having to tame a sea serpent can be pretty tiring.

Ty Lee often wondered how his body could sustain without food or water for so long. Probably because of Katara's healing capabilities that she administered every other day. The others visited the stranger once and awhile, talking amongst themselves in low voices about what to do when he wakes up.

Ty Lee sat near Sasuke's bedside now looking down at the Uchiha, wondering where he was from and how he had fallen from the sky. She did this when she had nothing else to do or had some spare time after practicing with the other Kyoshi Warriors.

She watched with interest as Sasuke's face turned into a frown as if he was in an unpleasant dream, border-line nightmare. She watched and leant closer, unknown to her that Suki and Katara had just entered watching the two with amused expressions.

_.............._

He dreamed of his brother and his old friends back at Konoha. Sasuke found himself swept through that world and into the darkness. The scene changed and he was standing on what seemed to be a huge mirror. The mirror was a little cracked and looked as though it could break any second, but that wasn't what attracted Sasuke. He saw his Quest for revenge and the destruction of Konoha. He saw his own unreasoning and his rage as he destroyed everything, as he saw this in stunned silence the mirrored floor cracked a little more.

Sasuke stared then at the mirror and saw his friends behind him. He looked back and saw everyone he ever cared for in his old world.

"You have fallen, Sasuke." Kakashi said warily, echoing the same words when they had fought.

"But nonetheless I will save you." Naruto finished determinedly.

Sasuke smirked, _Naruto never gives up. But now I wonder if it's too late. _

Suddenly the mirror as if hearing his last words, crumbled underneath him and he fell. Naruto gave a shout and tried to grab him but missed.

Sasuke fell into Oblivion but then he found his feet made contact with ground yet again. This time the mirrored ground seemed more firm and stable and not wrecked.

_A new beginning_, Sasuke thought. _I failed my friends once but now it's my second chance to set things right, a clean slate. I can hardly breathe._

He saw new people, the group he encountered at the beach when he had fallen unconscious. They smiled up at him and Sasuke turned around once again to see his new friends. He saw them all standing there looking at him with no wariness or fear but as if he were a long-lost friend.

A girl with a strand of braided hair smiled a cheery smile and did a cartwheel in the air before walking to him and taking his hand, dragging him to the group. Sasuke recognized her as the girl who had asked him who he was. He smiled and repeated the words in his head.

_A new beginning, a second chance._

**Well that is the end of the 2nd chapter. i appreciate the story alert thing but i need a few ideas and opinions and criticisms. Maybe when the reviews go to 10 I'll throw in 2 moderately long chapters? i don't know but i need to know how I'm doin'.**_  
_


	3. Get It Over With

**Sorry for the lateness but when I was reading over my fanfic I gathered that there was a large gap between the time between A Second Chance and Interrogations so here is what happened in between.**

Sasuke awoke at the sound of a yelp but he pretended to be still asleep, wanting to gather some information before he opened his eyes.

"Hey! Don't scare me like that!" a girl pouted.

"Sorry, did I interrupt anything special between you and dream boy over there. We'll leave if you want but don't count on us not to spy or gossip about this~"

"Nah, hahaha, it's O.K." the girl replied sheepishly.

There was silence, then…

"Hey, what do we do when he wakes up, Suki?" asked a third voice, curiously, not speaking 'till now.

"I don't know, question him? Your brother is so _paranoid_. It's best to take away his worries and suspicions with it." 'Suki' responded.

"Did you see how he just stood up and walked on the water? There wasn't even a ripple around where he was standing; no water bender can do that." The girl that pouted said. "I think he either is a water bender or maybe air."

"I doubt it." The third girl said, skeptically. "He doesn't look like a water bender. His skin is too pale. And the Air benders are monks and he doesn't look like a monk. But did you see what he did to the sea serpent?"

"Yes, Katara. It was amazing. He just stared down that sea serpent, which was something." Suki said.

"Can he stay at my place? " the first girl piped in. "He probably acts just like Zuko."

"That other comment was random."

"I'll just ignore what you just said, O.K., Ty Lee?"

"Aw, c'mon." Ty Lee pouted.

"Oh, alright. I think I'm spoiling you."

"You are, you should quit being nice." Katara cut in.

"Hey! I'm not spoiled."

"Yet."

Sasuke decided that nothing more interesting was going to be said. He stirred under the bed covers and opened his eyes. He saw that the room he was in had a lot of green, and what little else was wood. He noticed that he still wearing the attire he came here with and that his sword was laying on the bedside table.

He finally settled his eyes on the three girls who had immediately fallen silent when he had stirred. One was wearing blue and had cloud ninja skin color. He suspected she was Katara. The girl in armor like a samurai must be Suki, she looked to authoritative. And the last girl with her cheery smile must be Ty Lee.

The three girls made quick introductions before Katara said concernedly, "Are you feeling well? You seemed pretty beat up when we took you in." Sasuke rolled his shoulders and stretched, relieving the cramps and sores.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good, because we need you to answer a few questions." Suki said as she stood and motioned for him to follow.

"C'mon, Suki." Ty Lee said cheerily. "He just woke up after a week from when he fell from the sky and this is all the welcome he gets? Let's show him around town."

"That can wait." Suki said. Ty Lee pouted but Suki ignored it…with great difficulty.

"It's alright." Sasuke said, getting up and strapping his sword to his waist. "I'll go, let's get this over with."

He followed the warrior-girl with the other two following behind him.

**That's it. Review! Plz!**


	4. Interrogation

**Apologies for the late chapter and other chapter to come… I should put a disclaimer but honestly…I'm too lazy. Anyway you know I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Oh! There goes the disclaimer. Lol. Here's Chapter 4.**

…………..

Sasuke followed Suki through the mazes of corridors, followed by Katara and Ty Lee, until they arrived outside. From there they were greeted by other Kyoshi Warriors who immediately blindfolded the Uchiha and marched him to the designated area set for questioning strangers. "I have to say that this is over the extreme. You're taking things to seriously." Sasuke commented.

Suki responded casually. "Sorry, it's just that the war with the Fire Nation several years ago left everybody so insecure, it's become almost a tradition." Sasuke shook his head, annoyed. _As Shikamaru would say: What a pain…_

"C'mon, Suki! Go easy on him at least…!" Sasuke heard Ty Lee complain to Suki.

"If this goes well, then he'll have free reign." Her leader replied, gesturing for her followers to put the bonds on their captive. "This is just regulation…"

"I hope that this won't last long." Sasuke muttered. "I don't like playing the Helpless-Captive. Blind-folded as I am."

"Well, you won't be like that for long," Ty lee said, cheerfully. "We're here!" as she said this Sasuke felt the cloth covering his eyes being removed. He examined his surroundings as before in the bedroom and found that he was bound to a statue of some woman.

"The statue is of our Founder, Avatar Kyoshi whom we are named after." Suki answered the Uchiha's questioning look. Sasuke shrugged, he couldn't care less about the statue or their Founder, what was most distracting was the Kyoshi warriors surrounding him, all prepared to do battle if their 'captive' decided to escape or something. Ty Lee was with Katara, hanging back with hands behind her head, stretching. Catching his gaze, Ty Lee gave an apologetic smile while Katara shrugged.

"I have a horrible feeling of déjà vu here." The water bender muttered. Suddenly a large bison swooped down and landed toward Sasuke's right, behind the Kyoshi warriors. A young monk, a small girl, and a boy with a sword strapped to his back slid down from the beast's saddle. Sasuke wondered if the boy with the sword could even use that piece of metal on his back, he smirked at the thought.

Suki mistook the smirk as a challenge and said, "If you think you can escape from your bonds then think again. Even if you do there's so many Kyoshi Warriors you wouldn't be able to walk ten paces. Even the Avatar and his crew were captured so don't feel bad." She ended with a pleased smile as if that settled the matter.

"Who's the 'Avatar'?" asked Sasuke, clueless. "And I can escape if I wanted to, I just didn't want to make y'all feel bad." Suki frowned while Ty Lee laughed.

"He's the Avatar." Katara supplied, gesturing at the young monk. "Aang meet Sasuke, Sasuke Aang." The Monk smiled sympathetically while wrapping an arm around the water bender. _Young love…_ Sasuke thought, inwardly smirking.

"You must feel caged."Aang said in a friendly, understanding manner. When Sasuke tilted his head, the monk went on, "Well, I've been in your situation before so I can't say this is all that pleasant."

Katara frowned. "Hey, Aang…Where's Zuko? I'd think he'd be at least curious about the newcomer."

_Newcomer?_ Sasuke thought, musing over that. _That's what they call their captives…_

Aang shrugged and replied, " He left for home, said it was a conference on what to do about the prison break-out that happened over night. He said to say 'Hi' to the new arrival though." Sasuke just nodded, feeling awkward.

"What do you expect? He's the Fire Lord after all." Sword Boy said, loudly. "He's got to be busy. And I still haven't beaten him in a spar."

"Stop sulking, Sokka." Suki said as she approached Sasuke, preparing to question him. "You can spar with Sasuke once we're done. Right, Sasuke?" Sasuke just nodded cooperatively. _Anything to get this over with._

"There should be a loop hole around the law that every newcomer be questioned." Ty Lee pouted. "It's not like Sasuke did anything to us."

Suki shrugged. "Tell that to the block-head who insisted on this." Sokka let out a sigh of protest.

"Hey it's just for precaution. I mean I heard that the prison-break was near where Azula and her father were held as prisoners. I thought that maybe someone outside may have intended to free those crazy people. I mean imagine Azula and Ozai roaming around free!"

"You're so long-winded, Sokka." The small girl said. "Calm down." the water tribesman's eye twitched.

"Well sorry for being cautious, Toph."

"All of y'all shut up. How about you, Aang, and Katara go to the beach and wait for us there?" Suki suggested impatiently. Aang opened his mouth for protest but Katara led him away.

Toph stood there a minute then shrugged. "Alright, beats standing around here doing nothing."

…………..

When the three had left, Suki turned to Sasuke. "O.K., that's settled, now we can start with the questioning. Where did you come from?"

"Konoha, but I doubt I can go back there now." Sasuke replied.

"Do your people have any evil master plan to conquer the whole world?" Sokka asked, seeming to think that the Uchiha would take him seriously. Sasuke just raised an eyebrow at Suki in bemusement, wondering if this was some joke.

The Kyoshi leader sighed. "Just answer the question and ease Sokka's paranoia."

"I don't think so…my country's new leader is a pacifist. " Sasuke smirked inwardly, _Naruto and his quest for peace…_"So I doubt it."

"You're just a poor soul full of doubts! Cheer up!" Ty Lee said cheerily. "Put a smile on for once and relax. Your aura is so blue!" Sasuke shrugged but didn't comply, making the girl pout.

"So why were you falling from the sky?" Suki asked.

"One of my ancestors transported me here as a punishment for killing him."

"Why did you murder him?" Sokka said, looking confident that he had found a criminal or something.

"He was going to destroy my village and friends with it."

Sokka still seemed unsure but the rest were convinced that Sasuke was harmless. Suki finally said, "Alright, that's it. You're free." Sasuke's image disappeared from the bonds and he appeared beside the acrobat who jumped at the sudden apparition. Sasuke smiled at the surprised looks from the assembled citizens of Kyoshi Island. Sokka, thinking that the Uchiha intended to hurt someone, threw his boomerang. Sasuke flipped backward avoiding the projectile then half drew his katana to block Sokka's sword from cutting him in half.

"What, that it?" Sasuke asked casually. "Anyway, calm down. I'm not going to hurt anyone." He froze then dodged aside just in time as the boomerang came spinning back…and hit Sokka in the stomach.

Ty Lee started to laugh at the dazed tribesman as he tried to get his balance. Suki, helping her dazed companion, commented, "You've got pretty good instincts. But enough of this, let's go join the others at the beach and have some fun

"Alright!" cheered Ty Lee, as she flipped back to Sasuke's side, startling the former Akatsuki. "Now you can spar with Sokka." Sasuke looked over at the boy as if sizing him up. Sokka returned the gesture, both coolly observing the other.

Finally Sokka whined, "Hey, I'm wounded I'm not at my 100%."

Sasuke retorted, "I'm a patient recovering from having fallen out of the sky and having to have to subdue a sea serpent so let's call it even." Ty Lee smiled at the banter as the group headed to the beach.

After a bit of sulking, Sokka said, "I hope you won't be too much of a pushover."

"I would like to say the same," said Sasuke smirking. "But I know this will be child's play." Suki and the rest chuckled at Sokka's outrage.

…………..

Ty Lee looked to her side where Sasuke walked with her. He caught her gaze and held it, cocking his head to the side, eyes piercing hers. The acrobat felt something inside lurch as her breath caught, heart beating wild as she flushed. Ty Lee tore her eyes away with a shy smile she looks over at Suki to start a conversation but saw the smirk on her leader's face. _I will never hear the end of this…_ she thought. _Hopefully she won't embarrass me in front of everyone._ Thinking this over, the acrobat sighed, exasperatedly.

…………..

As Suki saw the small exchange from her subordinate and the newcomer she smirked, thinking of all the teasing and comments she could bring up in front of everyone. _Since when did Ty Lee have boy trouble? Never… until now._

…………..

Sasuke stared at the girl beside him, he didn't know what to think except…_Well at least she's not like Sakura or Karin or Ino. _Those two had given him no end of grief back in his world. Sasuke huffed and looked ahead.

…………..

**Ahh, fourth Chapter. Like I said Apologies for lateness. Files got erased somehow by a virus but hey who's gonna listen to the writer's excuses? Anyway…Review!**


	5. The Ultimate Playground

**Chapter…5! Yay! Now to business. Don't own Avatar. An dO.K. this isn't the new Chapter. The new one i put in between A Second Chance and Interrogation, it's called Get This Over With.  
**

…………..

When Sasuke and everyone arrived at the beach finally, the group was taken aback at the dramatic transformation of the once ordinary beach; it now looked like something from another planet: tall sand pillars, and towers rose everywhere in different shapes and designs, "Probably Toph's work" Sokka said admiringly, as he twirled around in a daze of admiration. Suki looked annoyed but seemed to forgive the tribesman's oblivious manner.

On the highest tower there was a crazy water slide of ice, twisting and turning every which way, that ended by launching the person into the lake. Everyone just stood there gaping until Sokka let out a yell of ululation and ran to the slide acting like a 5-year-old. Suki just face-palmed looking embarrassed at her boyfriend's behavior.

"Guess he forgot about sparring." Sasuke said to Ty Lee, back to his usual bemused state, shrugging.

But as Sokka emerged from the waters and yelled, "Don't think I forgot about our spar!" Ty Lee laughed at the irony while Sasuke just smirked.

"And there I thought he had forgotten." He mused. He, Ty Lee, and Suki settled down watching Sokka try out the slide, screaming his head off.

Suddenly, Aang, Katara, and Toph came running from behind a massive sand castle, all the while Toph was creating more and more castles and san sculptures. _Was this a contest or something?_ Sasuke thought, amused at the intense atmosphere that just radiated from all over the place, he turned at the sound of panting.

The young Avatar shouted at them, "Hey guys! You finally came!" He quickly bent a huge mass of sand into platforms all of which towered over them at different heights. Sasuke smiled, shaking his head. _Gaara would put all these bender's works to shame._ He shook his head. _Best not to think too much of the old home or else I'll get home-sick._

"Hey! You're smiling!" Ty Lee said happily, Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. This girl really was a piece of work but he couldn't help feeling at peace and cheerful around her, she was just the embodiment of happiness.

"Is that not natural around here?" he asked, feigning surprise.

The bubbly acrobat giggled but replied, "No it's not that. It's just you always smirk." After a short pause. "You only smile when you think of your old friends or something…I don't know." Sasuke shrugged.

"You're so perceptive." Suki mocked. "I almost wonder if you like him." Ty Lee flushed at that.

"Of course, I like you! I like everyone!" she said defensively, arms wide, gesturing to everyone. Sasuke smirked at her defensive outburst, causing the acrobat to blush even more deeply, but before Suki could reply with another jibe or a tease, there was a shout that got everybody's attention. The warrior-girl sat up straight, alarmed. But everyone's concern was not needed as they saw the Avatar and the Earth-bender Girl squabbling.

…………...

"Oh, so you think your sand-bending is better than mine?!" Toph yelled, disbelieving and competitive as she faced Aang. The wind blew and had her hair swaying to the side, with the dramatic atmosphere it seemed the air was filled with Iroh's war song as the two glared at each other. It was comical. Toph went into her earth-bending stance and began earth-bending, her movements sure and steady and strong. Sasuke watched interested at this foreign art and impressed.

_So my suspicions were confirmed…_ Sasuke thought, bemusedly as he continued to watch the monk and the little girl banter and bend. _This is a contest._

Suddenly the ground began to tremble and a section of the beach rose then another until it formed steps only a giant could use. "Beat that!" the earth-bender girl boasted. Aang shrugged and sand-bent a large pyramid then a giant sculpture of Avatar Kyoshi. Katara who was practicing her water-bending at the shore cheered the monk on.

The two seemed to love art seeing as how creative their bending was, Sasuke almost wondered if they were Deidara's relatives. He shuddered at the thought, Deidara had tried to kill him by self-destructing…just to prevent him from reaching Itachi. He didn't need to have to face anymore of those types of crazies like Deidara.

…………..

As the two continued to compete, creating magnificent works of art, Sokka came over, dried by Aang's wind-bending. As he walked toward them, Sokka drew his sword slowly trying to look cool. Out of the corner of Sasuke's eye, he saw Ty Lee and Suki's mouth twitch, fighting back a smile. Sasuke decided to keep silent and see how this played out. Who knows? Maybe Sokka will do something surprising…

"You ready to spar?" Sokka said dramatically, flourishing his sword and twirling it. He brought the tip of his blade to point in the X-Akatsuki's direction, eyeing Sasuke with a theatrical look on his face.

Sasuke knocked the blade out of the boy's hand with a kick causing Sokka to scowl, saying, "H-Hey! I wasn't ready yet…!" Ty Lee and Suki laughed, smirking at Sokka's embarrassment.

Ty Lee continued to giggle and Suki said exasperatedly, "You're such a drama queen, Sokka!" She and the acrobat broke down into peals of laughter. The water tribesman flushed and quickly retrieved his sword, eye twitching.

"So…You ready to spar…?" Sokka asked again, keeping a distance from Sasuke, in case he tried to disarm him again. Suki noticed and nudged Ty Lee, both surveying the exaggerated distance Sokka put between himself and Sasuke. They smiled knowingly.

The Uchiha smirked, "Why wouldn't I be?" Sasuke stood up dusting the sand from his clothes, not even bothering to get into a ready stance.

Sokka looked around for a clear place to spar, surveying the area: towers, pillars, sculptures, pyramids, slides, platforms, steps, and more. Overwhelmed, Sokka asked, dizzily, "Where do we spar?"

Sasuke gave his surroundings a quick glance taking in everything even so: seeing the towers soaring to the heavens and the rest of the two maverick's work; this reminded him of Naruto's antics back when they were in the Ninja Academy. _But even Naruto wouldn't go this far…or maybe he would._

"Everywhere." Sasuke replied. This would be the ultimate game for him and his opponent, manipulating the vicinity to their use.

Sokka looked around again, then back at Sasuke, cautious. Slowly Sokka assumed his stance. Sasuke looked at Sokka bemused as always, the Uchiha said, "Like I said 'this is gonna be child's play'."

The Ultimate Game, The Ultimate Playground.

…………...

**That's the end of this chapter…Sorry if this is short, thought it should end here. I'll probably post the next chapter some time later as compensation for this chapter. Oh and Review plz.**


	6. This Party's Just Gettin' Started

**And here is the spar! Don't forget to review! Don't own it. ^^**

Sasuke drew his sword and waited for Sokka to charge. Sokka went for a feint to the left then slashed diagonally. Sasuke, anticipating that, saw the tribesman's intentions clear as day in Sokka's eyes and dodged them effortlessly but then ducked at the last second as Sokka's boomerang came whizzing past where the Uchiha's head had once been.

Sasuke looked over at the boy surprised and saw him smiling.

The water tribesman went for a lunge this time but suddenly dodged to the right and Sasuke saw why. The boomerang went spinning back at Sasuke, close to the ground.

Sasuke leapt into the air, and that was when Sokka swept his blade up, aiming for the Uchiha's unprotected back. Ty Lee gasped from the sidelines as Suki watched proudly but a little concerned for the newcomer's welfare.

Sasuke smirked, _Child's Play._

The former Akatsuki spun and deflected the blade easily and flipped, landing on a pyramid. Suddenly, the X-Akatsuki's eyes lost focus and then eyesight was regained. 

_Guess my fight with Madara has set a larger toll on me than I had expected._ Sasuke thought, annoyed. He jumped up in the air, launching himself toward one of the higher platforms. Sasuke ran up the side and flipped onto the flat surface, racing for the thirty-foot tower next to it.

Sokka, thinking that the newcomer was going to land on top of it, threw his boomerang at the top of the tower. Sasuke had different plans in mind though and leaped forward, a little to the left of the tower. This gave the Uchiha cover from Sokka and accomplished what he planned: he sliced the tower in half then pushed off against the side to cause it to fall on top of the unfortunate boy.

Sokka however didn't feel like being squashed so he made a run for it and dived to the side, getting sand on himself anyway.

Toph looked over, as she felt one of her towers fall. "Hey!" quickly the halves fell back into place as if the tower had never been touched by Sasuke's blade.

Sasuke leapt up over Sokka's horizontal slash and landed on Avatar Kyoshi's hand. He leapt higher and higher until he was at the statue's shoulder. Sokka got on the slide to get higher but slipped and slid down toward the water.

Sasuke decided now was not the time to laugh when the cursed boomerang went flying at him; he leapt and landed on the slide himself. Together, the two slid on their feet on the slide as if surfing on ice, all the while exchanging blows. Finally both tumbled into the air and fell toward the water. "Sokka!" Katara yelled and quickly turned the water beneath him to ice.

_Crunch! _"OW!" Sokka yelped as he crashed onto the hard surface. "Thanks!" he called back and looked over at Sasuke, expecting to see the newcomer dripping wet. But instead of the expected he found Sasuke standing on the water's surface, very much dry.

_I don't think that I need to use hand signs for jutsus in this world_, Sasuke thought.

**Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu**

The water behind the Uchiha began to writhe and swirl until a huge dragon of water erupted out and over Sasuke, launching itself at Sokka who made a run for it again but there was no need. Katara froze the dragon creating a sculpture of it. By now everyone was watching the show as the two Titans duked it out on the and Aahs all around.

Back on land, Sasuke began to slice tower after tower in quick succession and pushing off from it at just the right trajectory and angle to aim all of them at Sokka. The water tribesman dodged them barely as he ran for his life, while Aang and Toph reformed the towers.

Sasuke did a back flip to avoid Sokka's ground sweep. Sokka chose that time to throw his trusty boomerang at the former Akatsuki, who threw a dozen or so shuriken at the tribesman with one hand while simultaneously with the other he deflected the boomerang, knocking it off course. It hit a pillar and stuck there. Sokka hit the ground as the shurikens zoomed above, then rolled onto his back to deflect a harsh blow from Sasuke.

Then suddenly the Uchiha was gone and he appeared, jumping from tower to tower at high speeds, slicing the structures in half. Sokka looked up to see a tower falling his way. He leapt up and thrust his sword out, slicing the tower in half with difficulty, as the halves fell harmlessly on either side of him.

Sokka began to run up the sandy steps of a tower to the top, looking for his opponent, only to find Sasuke above him. Sokka quickly blocked the X-Akatsuki's blade from cutting him in half but the force shocked him more than having to slice a ten-ton building in half. The blow practically blew the sand structure from Sokka's feet, reducing it to rubble. Sokka was push to the ground until his feet was driven a foot under the sand.

Sasuke flipped backward again and again, displaying acrobats that rivaled Ty Lee's, until he stood on the surface of the water. _I can probably do this two more times_, thought the Uchiha. _Then, why am I even trying so hard?_ He watched Sokka charge at him, after removing his feet from the ground. As the boy reached the water's surface, Katara began to turn the path Sokka ran on to ice for more solid ground. Sasuke held his sword at the ready and sprinted at the tribesman at full speed, slamming his blade against Sokka's and using his momentum, Sasuke threw Sokka several meters back.

**Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu**

This time Sasuke made it circle around Sokka then attack to prevent Sokka from retreating. Katara froze it like the last one. _If he keeps doing this I won't be able to help my brother soon._ Thought Katara, panting at the effort of freezing the water.

**Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu**

Another dragon erupted from the surface and blocked Sokka's front. Katara had no choice but to freeze and then she passed out. Now, Sokka was completely trapped.

**Cliffhanger~ hopefully y'all will review. Plz? lol**


	7. It's Game Over

**This is Game Over, Chapter 7. Oh and the reason why Sokka is mostly silent is to emphasize the seriousness he's taking to when he fights. Kinda like when he was fighting his master. ^^ but I'll make him a fool in this chapter. XD Thanks for the reviews and the votes! It really helped! **

Sasuke smirked down at Sokka, from atop the ice. The tribesman was desperately hacking at the unyielding barrier as Sasuke watched, amused.

The others back on the shore waited in bated breath at the outcome of the match as they stared at the icy dragon sculptures that blocked their view.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" Sokka yelled a half-strangled battle cry as he began to furiously hit the ice a thousand times faster until he ran out of strength. The youth fell to the icy surface and sat pouting.

_The warm-up hasn't ended yet. Why not reveal to these runts a new technique?_ Sasuke thought.

**Water Style: Water Vortex Jutsu!**

The hurricane hit Sokka full force and shattered the ice, sending Sokka plunging down into the water. Oddly the sea serpent hadn't surfaced yet; it probably got smart and found a new area to swim.

Sokka emerged from the surface of the water, spluttering and coughing. "Blast you!" he shouted enraged. "You're cheating! You used bending; this is a battle of swordsmanship!"

Sasuke looked down at the boy and smirked again. "I think it's quite fair. After all your comrades are helping you." The Uchiha turned his back on the enraged tribesman, making Sokka even more furious. "if you were going against an opponent who was trying his hardest to kill you, your foe would not hesitate to use anything to their advantage; in this case: bending." the X-Akatsuki looked over his shoulder, adding, "And also, if you are going to vent…At least be a man and cuss right."

Sokka huffed angrily while the others back on shore laughed.

The tribesman lifted himself up, with some difficulty, onto a slab of ice still afloat on the surface. "I can't fight you with all this water weighing me down." Sokka complained. "I need to dry off…with wind or fire…"

Sasuke smirked. "You want fire? I can take care of that." Leaping up into the air, the last Uchiha drew a deep breath.

**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu! **

The flames shot toward where Sokka was, or had been at least. The moment the flames escaped his opponent's mouth, Sokka jumped into the water. Steam blew from the surface where the fireball had hit, creating the best cover for both Sokka and Sasuke. Sasuke had the advantage though, since his Sharingan eyes could pretty much see where Sokka was.

…………………..

Sokka ran to shore where Aang quickly dried him with a gust of wind. Suddenly a giant fireball hurtled toward them which Aang deflected it with his own as the water tribesman ran for it. The Avatar turned upward to see the attacker looming above them all, atop a tall tower. "So you're joining my warm-up session?" Sasuke asked, bored as he twirled his katana about.

"What are you doing?" Aang shouted. "This is a spar! You're not supposed to try and kill someone!"

"Yeah!" Sokka shouted behind a pillar. "Tell him Aang!" he fell silent when the Uchiha turned to stare at him.

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not trying to kill anyone. You'll notice that my attacks aren't as strong as they could be." Everyone sweatdropped at that while Aang opened and closed his mouth, speechless.

"I think you're overestimating your destructive capabilities." Suki called over.

"Fine, should I fight him with one hand behind my back?" Sasuke suggested.

"No." Suki's eyes widened in surprise at Sokka's reply. "This is my fight. I wouldn't hear the end of it if you went easy on me. I couldn't live it down if that happened." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the dramatic atmosphere.

_Is this guy for real? _Sasuke thought, eye twitching slightly. _Well it's over anyway._

**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu! **

Sasuke blew a steady stream of flames at Sokka, who made a run for cover while Aang and Toph created more and more sand structures some of which provided cover for the tribesman. The places where the flames hit turned to glass at the intense heat. The atmosphere was crazy with the frenzied events occurring all at once: Sokka and Sasuke's spar, Aang and Toph competing and covering for their friend, the crowd of spectators that had gathered to the show which had reached its climax.

Aang shouted to Sasuke who was deciding his next move. "Hey, go easy on Sokka or we might have to join in!" Sasuke deduced that "we" was Aang and Toph…and Katara if she wakes up.

The Uchiha shrugged. "I'd like nothing more than additional obstacles for this warm-up." He said, calmly as he sheathed his sword. "I won't even draw my sword." The Uchiha paused and summoned a few shurikens from the seals on his wrists. "I'll fight with my _bending_ and with stars and knives."

**Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!**

The X-Akatsuki threw his fiery weapons at Aang and Sokka but a wall of sand blocked both of them. Sasuke turned slightly and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Toph in earth-bending stance. "I've come to join the party!" the small girl shouted as she went through the motions of her stance, preparing to hurl boulders at her opponent.

"The shield is useless unless you guard 360 degrees of the victim." Sasuke chided and suddenly the flaming weapons he threw curved around the wall.

_Damn it!_ Toph thought. _He—_

—_had wires attached to the weapons?!_ Aang, Sokka, and Toph thought in unison. Sasuke charged at the group, running alongside the walls of a colossal sand castle, just as Aang blew a gust of wind to distinguish the flames of the projectiles. "That's not gonna cut it!" the Uchiha commented. "You still have to get through my weapons."

Suddenly, Sokka's boomerang hit the missiles off course, Sasuke glanced side ways to see Sokka sigh in relief. "I got my boomerang from the side of the building when I got back on shore." Sokka said, panting.

"Hnn…Impressive but it's over now." Sasuke said, closing his eyes.

**Sharingan!**

……………………….

Ty Lee looked from the sidelines, staring at the newcomer's eyes curiously. _They're red with this design on them. What is he? What's happening?_

Suki watched the spar by the acrobat's sidelong; she glanced sidelong to see the usually bubbly girl frowning. The Kyoshi leader followed the girl's gaze and saw that she was staring at none other than Sasuke. "What's wrong?" Suki asked the Fire Nation girl. "You seem puzzled."

Ty Lee shook her head. "Nothing! Must be the trick of the light." She smiled cheerfully. She saw Suki roll her eyes.

"Please if you saw the new boy in a halo of light and angel wings then I'd say you are seriously in love." She smirked when Ty Lee flushed.

"No I was NOT seeing that."

"Whatever. Denial."

"Oh, c'mon, stop teasing!"

"I'll try not to~."

………………………

Sasuke zoomed in on Toph's movements and mimicked them, even predicting her movements and went through them even before she did. Finishing the motions, the Uchiha slammed his palms against the ground several seconds before Toph did the same thing.

_What the hell?!_ The earth-bender expert thought, surprised beyond belief. _How did he—?!_

Sasuke pulled a metal staff from the sand; an artifact of his new bending he developed a few second ago. "Well now I know that your techniques can come in use." The Uchiha remarked mildly, examining the staff.

"You copied my bending!" Toph shouted angrily.

"How?!" Aang asked, shocked. "How did you perfect earth-bending, water-bending, and fire-bending?! Only the Avatar is able to use master all the elements!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Please…You have an inflated sense of importance." Spinning the staff until it practically disappeared, the last Uchiha charged. "Anyone could probably master all the elements if they tried!"

Toph produced her own staff and swung at the Uchiha but the Sharingan predicted that and Sasuke was able to dodge the attack. The former Akatsuki kicked Toph up into the air, disarming her, and catching her staff. Throwing the two staffs like spears, Sasuke pinned Toph by her sleeves on the side of a building. Aang tried to blow Sasuke back with a typhoon of wind but Sasuke responded by throwing a letter bomb wrapped around a kunai.

The knife blew up in the wind and the flames were strengthened through the huge gusts, creating a hurricane of fire that the young monk quickly put out with the water in the sea. That split second of confusion gave Sasuke enough time to prepare. The Uchiha threw a dozen weapons around Aang who seemed surprised that they missed until he realized there were strings attached. The weapons wrapped around a pillar and the strings tightened around the unfortunate boy.

"Two down, one to go." Sasuke said, pretending to wipe the 'imaginary' sweat off his forehead. He turned to Sokka who came charging at him head on. "That's called letting your guard down." Sasuke commented and ducked under the tribesman's wild slash, hitting him in the solar plexus and sending Sokka flying into the water. Suki ran toward her boyfriend, concerned but a hand flew out of the water halting her.

"Do not help me!" Sokka said, nostrils flaring and eyes aflame. "I shall defeat my foe!"

Suki shortstopped, eye twitching. "Sokka, are you sure…?" but her question needn't be answered as Sokka staggered out of the water.

Weighed down by the water and disoriented by it and the blow to the weakest part of his body, the Water tribesman leaned on his sword huffing.

Sasuke flipped backward suddenly and dodged Sokka's boomerang. "You're very good at concealing when you throw your weapon." Sasuke exclaimed. "But it's still no use if you can't conceal your intentions. I see you're every intended move in your eyes, whether you'll feint to the left or the right, throw the boomerang or wait. You're like an open book."

"Thanks for the backhanded compliment." Sokka said sarcastically. "I've had a lot of those from Zuko."

"That wasn't a compliment." Sokka's eye twitched.

"You know what?! I can't stand you!" he said, whining. Then Sokka put on the "serious" face. "But let's finish this first. I'm taking your spotlight."

Sokka slowly drew his sword into a ready stance and charged.

Sasuke smirked. _I can't stop thinking this: he's so dramatic._ He went into a ready stance then took his sword, still in its sheath and held it up as if to stab the sky. _Oh well, it wouldn't hurt to break etiquette and be dramatic also._

The two charged at each other but when Sokka's left slash was a hair's breath away from Sasuke's sheath, the former Akatsuki sped up and dodged to the right.

Sasuke's sheathed sword hit the tribesman's solar plexus again and Sokka's sword fell out of his hand as Sasuke quickly disarmed him.

"Game Over."

**That's it for now. You liked it? Yes? No? Review! C'mon~ Anyway I need the criticism and some suggestions on what should happen next. Also I will be correcting some of the chapters soon so don't worry about that though I'd like to know the errors in this story. Anyway, thank you all. See ya!**


	8. Reminiscence

**New chapter up! Yes! Read and review please! Some of you readers' reviews were a bit harsh but it's cool. At least you reviewed! Oh when I looked over this chapter I added a few things in to make it more interesting. Anyway, I'm not sure if this story should continue as a romance so review and tell me what you think! Penny fo yo thoughts? lol**

"Game Over."

"Not even a good warm-up." Sasuke said as he re-strapped the katana back onto his waist, still sheathed in its scabbard. "It's your loss."

He suddenly tilted his head slightly to the side so that the tribesman's boomerang flew harmlessly by. The Uchiha looked over at Sokka. "I surmise that the boomerang was your last hope on taking me down…?" he smirked when Sokka growled and crossed his arms in frustration.

"You're too good. You probably trained your entire life…nonstop, too, I bet. So it was hardly fair."

"Excuses." Sasuke stated, dismissively. "We are almost about the same age. I just find training more interesting than running around like an idiot. Use your time wisely." The boy pouted at the Uchiha's words but nevertheless the boy got up and bowed respectfully.

Sasuke simply nodded back in return and let the Water tribesman storm off to Suki, who was trying to act supportive instead of laughing at the two swordsmen's attitudes.

The rest of the villagers, who had gathered to see the spar, applauded and went away while some stayed behind; the occasional village boy or girl stopped to praise Sasuke on his swordsmanship and power.

Ty Lee smiled as a few of the villagers began to strike a conversation with the newcomer; Sasuke answered them politely and patted a few kids on the heads. Sokka seemed to have noticed as well because he was being extra sulky and sullen.

Katara woke with a start and looked around, she saw Sasuke talking to some of the villagers but she could that he didn't really want to talk. _So the spar is over…?_

Then she caught sight of Aang and Toph, pinned against the sandy towers by metal spears. There was no doubt who won that fight. With some difficulty, the water bender was finally able to get the two free.

The small earth bender was still shocked at how Sasuke was able to copy her metal bending but she didn't show it instead she grumbled on about being so easily outmatched. The monk was doing too good either as he kicked at the sand, absent-mindedly as Katara stared at him. Aang definitely seemed a little irritated. They joined Suki, Sokka, and Ty Lee who gestured for the Uchiha to come over also.

…..

_Let's get this over with_, the Uchiha thought for the second time this day as he reached the end of his and the villagers' conversation. _This is like back at Konoha. Even though it brings back memories, they aren't good ones. Now I have people wanting to be me, people wanting to be my friend to be cool and random admirers…along with the fan girls._

"All right, see you all." Sasuke attempted to smile but couldn't bring himself to do it so he settled for a smirk. He made his way to the group he had first been acquainted when the cheery acrobat waved for him to hurry his pace up. It seemed the group was checking up on Sokka even though he had sustained no serious injury.

Toph sandbent the sand from everyone except Sasuke, who didn't seem to have a speck of it on him…except on the soles of his sandals. The small girl punched Sasuke on the arm which surprised him. "That was some spar, alright. It was chaotic!" she grinned, good-naturedly even though she had been pinned to a tower wall by a sharp metal spear.

…..

Toph kept wondering how the newcomer had copied her so flawlessly and even predicted her next move.

…..

"Yeah! That was really something!" Aang chipped, seeming to have gotten over the fact that he too had gotten owned.

Sasuke nodded to the two. _So forgiving…_he mused. _Almost like home._

Sokka was still sulking but he added in, "Hey! Could you teach me some of your sword moves and that Running-on-the-walls-and-water trick?"

"If you were to have underwent the same training I went through you would probably die. You can't even take a few flesh wounds and some scratches."

"Hey! What there was an attack on this village? I might get killed because my wounds will get inflicted or if they use poison then it can seep into me through it." Sokka replied defensively.

"All the more reason why you can't handle it." Sasuke said with a slight edge to it, annoyed at the boy's whining and hypothetical statements. "If your wounds will get infected then don't let them, get them cleaned and bandaged. If you fight someone that uses close range poison attacks then put some distance between you and the attacker. If you can't handle a few scratches then you're not a warrior. Dunce."

Sokka's eye twitched as he scowled at the raven-haired teen. Suki turned to Sasuke, "That was a little too harsh, don't you think?" she asked reproachfully. It's been awhile since she's felt so inferior to someone.

Sasuke shrugged. "It's the truth." But he smirked, telling the others that it was his way of kidding around them.

Ty lee came up to him, clapping him on the back. "That was amazing, never knew someone other than the Avatar can master the four elements."

Sasuke put on the hood of his cloak to shield him from the midday sun. "I learned some water techniques from some of my encounters with water users back in my world. I used to have a friend that was a water user. Hell, he was made out of it." A ghost of a smile flitted through his face as he recalled Suigetsu then flirting-and-doting Karin and stoic Juugo came into mind; he was oblivious to the astonishment of the group at his statement. '…as for the earth, I just learned that from you." The Uchiha directed his last sentence at Toph.

"But you predicted Toph's move and finished before she did." Ty Lee said, voicing the earth bender's thoughts.

"My clan was blessed with some unique powers…" Sasuke trailed off, no sure if he should go on and divulge anymore of his secrets and past life. He frowned. "I thought interrogations were over but today have been nothing but questions." He sighed rubbing his head.

""We're done asking questions now." Ty Lee said helpfully, smiling as she fingered her braid, then frowned. "You're bleeding." She touched his cheek and showed it to him.

"How bold", Suki commented, smirking slyly. "Going to flirt with the new guy _already_, Ty Lee?" she teased, laughing as the acrobat flushed a little.

Unsurprisingly, Sasuke wasn't even paying attention to the exchange when he was nudged out of his thoughts by Suki, he said, "The wimp's boomerang must have grazed me." He smirked as…

"HEY! WHO YOU CALLIN' A WIMP?" Sokka shouted furiously, shaking his fists.

The Uchiha continued as if nothing happened and no one had interrupted, "Don't worry it's not likely that I'll die from it…like your friend over there."

Sokka let out another shout of outrage only to be shut up by Toph punching him hard on the arm.

…..

Sasuke thought back to the times when it was just him, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. Outwardly, Sasuke just stared at the scene in front of him coldly though beneath the cold exterior, he was amused. _This attitude, this behavior…it's almost like someone I knew back home._

The acrobat broke the Uchiha from his reverie. "Don't you have anything nice to say?" Ty Lee asked cheerful as always. "You're so negative!"

"No." but seeing the looks of disapproval on all their faces, he sighed. "Fine. Let me think…the sky is beautiful…?"

All of them face palmed. "No, not like that. Like a good compliment to a human being." Suki said, teasingly.

Sasuke frowned. "I don't know you all that well."

"What about Sokka's combat skills?"

"He's good at planning his next move…" seeing the happy expressions, Sasuke couldn't help but add in, "But his intentions are too readable…the boomerang was unexpected though." He hastily added. He tried to forget all the other bad comments he could make. "Good enough...?"

"That was a backhanded compliment…" Ty Lee said, sighing. "But it's a start." She smiled happily.

_Can she sober up for at least one minute…?_ Sasuke thought. Then, _Still. At least she's not like Sakura or Ino…or worse Karin._

"We need to work on your attitude." Suki said in a mock angry tone.

"Hmm?"

"Never mind."

…...

Now everyone was back at what they were doing before the spar: Aang and Toph competing, Katara cheering them on and adding a little of her own touch to the competition, and Sokka slashing madly at an invisible enemy as he practiced the one and only sword technique Sasuke taught him; it was only due to the fact that the others pleaded so that Sokka would be quiet that sasuke complied…reluctantly.

Suki and Ty Lee sat under the shade of an umbrella like before, finishing their snack. Suki looked upward to one of the towers, where the hooded figure sat, observing everything and thinking of who-knows-what. The guy remained a mystery. Hell, he even looked mysterious with the hood of the black cloak on. He had seemingly effortlessly incapacitated Katara, Aang, Toph, and Sokka all by himself.

_How strong is this person?_ The Kyoshi leader thought. _It's like he's in a totally different league than anyone in this world._ Suki never liked feeling inferior to someone but seeing the spar she felt that she had no right to be authoritative to someone who can wipe you out in one nanosecond.

She looked over at Ty Lee and saw that she was looking at the newcomer's general direction; she must have diverted her gaze slightly when Suki looked over. Suki smirked but when she was about to tease her friend, a thought came to her-0unbidden.

What if Ty Lee asks him…? And he rejects…? Ouch. Suki shook her head to clear and push away the thoughts. This was Ty Lee she was thinking about, the f natural flirt; the acrobat could get anyone she wanted if she wanted and just by being herself. Her _aura_ was just too contagious.

…..

Ty Lee decided to talk to sasuke for some reason, so she went cart wheeling off, happily, with Suki smirking behind her. The Fire Nation girl leapt, almost cat-like, from platform to pillar then to the side of a large, wide edifice and finally atop the same tower where Sasuke sat, brooding.

Ty Lee's eye twitched when a thought came, Suki's laughing at me…I I can just feel it! She sighed exasperatedly.

…

Sasuke had been thinking back to the past when he sensed someone land on the tower he sat. he was a little surprised at the way the girl, Ty Lee, had gotten up to this place. It was fast, her movements. He would have mistaken her for a ninja if she wasn't wearing what she wore or if he knew no better. The average Shinobi could probably match her speed but here, there were no ninjas.

"That was something…" he commented, then seeing her puzzled expression, he added, "The way you got up here."

The girl flushed then smiled brightly, "Well I am an acrobat and all. So of course I can do that."

There was a deafening silence. So silent that it was almost comical.

Then, "Your aura is so blue!" Ty Lee exclaimed, looking at the hooded teen reproachfully. "Don't' act so serious all the time. Relax; Stress and Frowns age you!"

"I would—" Sasuke began but was interrupted by Sokka who was yelling for a second spar now that he was completely healed, refreshed by his sister's water abilities. The former Akatsuki smirked. "But enough of this idle chatter, it seems that I owe the dunce a rematch."

**That's it for now! Please review! As always I like to hear if there are some errors to this story or any suggestions what should happen. Hopefully though, even if I go with some of your suggestions, it won't be too predictable and every chapter will be a surprise! Well see ya!**


	9. Things Start Getting Interecting

**I made this chapter extra long (+4500 in fact!) seeing as it's been awhile since I updated. Sorry about that, my computer has been acting funny lately. Sorry if there is any OOC or such. Oh and I also don't like making up characters so there won't some random guy in here or other; OC characters suck in my opinion…no offense to those who like them of course but I don't see how anyone can like them. ..No offense of course. Lol. Please read and review! And if you like Bleach or Karakuridouji Ultimo or Soul Eater you should read my other fics! Yeah! Just saying…**

…

"That was about one of the lamest fights I've ever fought…and that's not a lot, which is saying something." Sasuke stood over a panting Sokka who lay in the sand, utterly exhausted, completely spent, and shamefully defeated. Beside the dead beat tribesman were Aang, Toph, Katara, Suki, and Ty Lee, who also looked like whipped puppies in the rain; they had decided to join in on the spar which turned out to be a bad idea. The Uchiha wasn't all that fazed by Sokka's back up.

Sasuke let out an "Hmph!" of boredom before going over what he just said and realizing that half of his sentences rhymed. _Damn. That Eight-Tailed Beast Killer Bee did a number on me. I'm starting rhyme my sentences subconsciously._ Even his thoughts were turning into rhymes; Sasuke soon decided that the lack of a good spar was making him delusional and that he should call it a day. Two long but easy spars were enough for him.

The Uchiha sheathed his sword before holding out a hand to help each of them up. That very gesture shocked them. The GAang looked at the hand with caution as if something bad might happen if they accepted his offer of help. Sasuke resisted the urge to just roll his eyes and walk away; he was getting soft and that was something he didn't like. The new world he had been thrown into must be influencing him greatly; he was almost completely out of his usual character.

"I'm lending a hand to help you weaklings up. I'm not going to bite." He proceeded to bodily lift them to their feet before turning his back on them, oblivious to the group's embarrassment. "Let's head toward town. I'm tired and I need my rest. It's getting late anyway."

The GAang stared after the Uchiha before following.

_That was the nicest thing he's done so far_, was the thought that crossed everyone's mind. Even Sokka had to grudgingly admit the Uchiha was getting easier to hang around…for now.

…..

Several minutes later, the group was sitting in The Dragon of the West's tea shop, being served tea by Uncle Iroh as he insisted to be called. Sasuke studied the old man, not quite sure what to make of him. Iroh was said to have trained with the very last dragons to understand the true nature of fire bending, the group was telling him this right now but he was only barely listening.

"Yeah and he lied about killing the last two dragons to protect them." Aang finished, admiringly.

The old man waved off the compliments modestly. "I just happened to run into them. I knew that if word got out about them being alive my brother and father would stop at nothing to kill them just to gain fame and honor."

"Zuko and I also trained with the last two Dragons." Aang boasted with a hint of smugness in his tone. "We learned the Dance of the Dragon!"

"Nice." Sasuke said bored out of his mind as he swirled his tea with a spoon to cool it off. "And even with two dragons to train you, you still can't last a minute against me." The young monk's eye twitched at that while the girls laughed, with the exception of Toph who was still grouchy over the loss.

"So I heard from the villagers that you and Sokka put on a magnificent show as you two sparred it out at the beach. All of them said you gave Sokka a pretty bad whipping along with the others." Iroh said jovially. The happy atmosphere around the GAang seemed to have disappeared instantaneously when Iroh finished.

Sasuke nodded in reply to Iroh's statement, smirking at the disgruntled sounds from the group.

"They're just children; it's nothing worth bragging about." Sasuke said, feigning humbleness as he waved off the old man's praise arrogantly. He sipped his tea, unaware of the fact that six pairs of eyes were glaring daggers into him and six individuals were trying their hardest not to try to strangle the raven-haired swordsman.

Iroh raised an eyebrow at the newcomer's calm and confident air, not to mention haughty. He tried to calm the group and restore some of their damaged pride by saying, "Well, I wouldn't say they are just children. They saved the world from the Fire Nation and helped the Avatar bring balance to the world." The old man laughed, reminiscing. "That was an adventure none of us could forget." His gaze returned to the Uchiha, only to see the teen staring out the window beside him, half listening. The old man's eyebrow rose another inch at that.

Sasuke responded, "Yes well I guess this world is just stocked full of small fries then, huh…?" a vein was steadily pulsing in almost each and every one of the GAang's temples now. Sasuke continued, still remaining ignorant to the rapidly darkening mood around him, "These little 'heroes' need to take their training up a notch in my opinion. I've fought wooden dummies that were more challenging than them." He gestured with a jerk of his head at the angry group.

Iroh laughed, amused at the newcomer's attitude. "Well, it's not every day that an old man like me can encounter someone who can defeat the Avatar without so much as a bruise." He paused for a moment then, "I heard from Suki that you came from a different world, is that true?"

Sasuke inclined his head. "One of my ancestors sent me here as a post mortem present for ruining his life-long scheme to destroy my village."

Iroh nodded, knowingly. "It seems you come from a very complicated family. Don't worry though. You're not the only one. Take my family for example…" he trailed off as a young man came bursting through the doors of the tea shop, panting.

The young man had a burn scar on the side of his head and was wearing garments of red, orange, and yellow, a fire emblem was stitched onto the chest and sides. _So this is the Fire Nation's clothes, huh…? Weird_, Sasuke thought, aimlessly twirling a kunai he had just summoned due to the outburst.

"Uncle! I have some very bad news for you and the rest…" he said before realizing that he had attracted the attention of everyone in the tea shop. He stumbled over his words, then grabbed a chair and sat down. "Never mind, that can wait after you are all done with your dinner." The teen turned his gaze on Sasuke. "So who's the new guy in the group?"

Ty Lee decided to make the introductions. "Glad you came back so soon, Zuko! We were already missing you. This is Sasuke. Sasuke, this is Fire Lord Zuko."

Zuko waved off the title. "Just Zuko is fine. What's up, Sasuke? You seem new here—well you are new here but what's up?"

Sasuke spun his kunai from one finger to the next, making Sokka who was sitting across from him very nervous, while the others stared enviously at the former Akatsuki's talent. "Nothing much, your…fieriness. Just been sparring with these amateurs at the beach." Zuko raised an eyebrow at his Uncle who just shrugged, looking amused of all of this all together. The others ground their teeth as the Uchiha continued to ruthlessly throw their errors and weaknesses into the spotlight. "I was saying before that these children really need to train harder."

"Hmmm…this is alarming."

There was an awkward silence after that exchange until the bubbly acrobat broke it.

"You two are about the most anti-social guys I've ever met." Ty Lee burst out.

"And that's a lot of girls she's talking about I bet." Sasuke muttered. Zuko smirked.

"Tell me about it." The young acrobat flushed at that.

"Hey! It's not my fault, they just want to be my friends." There were some skeptical looks at that.

"That's the understatement of the year." Suki said, laughing. "Remember the first few weeks when you arrived at Kyoshi Island, Ty?"

The Fire Nation girl blushed deeper. "Moving on…" she laughed nervously, not wanting to talk about how many buys she had sent to the hospital for their flirtations going too far.

"You two are almost the same side of the coin." Katara said, ever so observant, to the Uchiha and the Fire Lord. "You two are both anti-social, and sometimes you both take things too seriously….like during the second spar, Sasuke. You went overboard with the element bending and martial arts. And Zuko, sometimes you can't take a joke."

"Can't help it." Zuko said with hands outstretched in mock resignation.

"Me neither…" Sasuke said, drinking his tea and looking out the window before returning his gaze to the group.

"Hmmm…from what Sasuke said…you all haven't been practicing have you…?" Zuko directed this to the rest of the GAang. Some nervous laughter and denials ensued but Zuko figured. He sighed. "And such a bad time to slack, too."

"What do you mean?" Ty Lee asked.

Aang leaned closer to hear the Fire Lord out, too. "Does this have to do with the bad news?" Sasuke looked up from his tea, half interested.

Zuko cleared his throat and began. "Well, the rumor of the prison break is true. And unfortunately, Azula and Ozai managed to escape." After those words left his mouth, instant chaos followed.

"Damn! I knew it!" Sokka exclaimed with an I-told-you-so expression on his face.

"No, you didn't. You jinxed it, you moron!" Toph said, punching the water tribesman hard on the arm, making Sokka lean his head on the table moaning in pain

"Azula's crazy and Ozai's just a power-hungry creep. This'll be trouble." Katara said, dismayed.

"Aw, man. C'mon, I hoped I'd never see Azula again but now this happens…" Ty Lee said, nervously.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. Ozai doesn't have his fire bending right? So this won't be that much of a problem." Aang said, confidently, trying to calm the mood and panicked atmosphere.

"Who are Azula and Ozai?" Sasuke asked lazily, he summoned another kunai and twirled them both around the fingers of one hand, effortlessly. "I've never heard of them. They're not even in my bingo book, so they mustn't be that much of a threat."

The group just stared at the newcomer stunned that he wasn't even taking this seriously, some with veins throbbing in their heads. Iroh sat back and looked at the exchange between them, chuckling.

"Azula is my sister and Ozai is my father, my sister was to be announced Fire Lord after my father left to conquer the rest of the world, thankfully none of that happened because of us." Zuko stated, calmly as he gestured to the rest of the group.

Sasuke smirked at the descriptions the Fire Lord and his uncle proceeded to give of the two bothersome imbeciles. "It seems you have your hands full then…in this conflict. But if the descriptions are correct then you won't have a problem in finishing them."

"Easy for you to say." Sokka muttered under his breath. Sasuke turned to the tribesman, a ghost of a frown on his face. There was an intake of breath from the group; evidently the Uchiha overheard that last comment; things might get dangerous if Sasuke got provoked. But that didn't happen.

Sasuke just shook his head. 'Such a petty statement from a dunce isn't worth my attention." The rest laughed at that before growing serious.

"Anyway, this whole breakout thing was a week ago," Zuko continued. "When I heard of this I set out back to Kyoshi Island for you guys at once. Father must have used the same method you used, Aang, to get back his fire-bending. There have been casualties and skirmishes, my soldiers reported that Ozai got his power back which makes this situation worse. If he knows Aang's method then he can have the strength of a dozen or more men; if we wait, then when Souzen's Meteor comes back around two weeks from now, Ozai will have enough power to wipe out an entire city."

"Wait, I thought the Meteor had already passed, so it'll take another century or so for it to reach Earth again wouldn't it?" Katara asked perspiration was accumulating on all of their foreheads…except Sasuke's; he was still too busy twirling a couple of kunai on his fingertips to even bother with their conversation.

"There was some cosmic disturbance that caused the meteor to accelerate and all, one of my stargazers and scholars informed me." Zuko said, not exactly sure he understood what he just said; neither did the others it seemed by the looks on their faces. "Moving on…we have a problem at hand that we need to straighten." Scar-face downed his tea in a single gulp and continued on, "So I need help, how about it?"

"Yeah! Let's go kick some butts!" Toph said, punching her fist into her palm. Suki, Katara, and Aang nodded grimly, even Ty Lee with her usual happy atmosphere was serious.

Sokka brandished his sword, yelling, "Alright! Let's do this!"

Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "Put that piece of metal back in its scabbard, you're offending me. And you might break something if you're not careful. Just stop flailing around and keep that in mind…dunce."

A vein throbbed on Sokka's temple, pulsing slowly at first before gradually quickening until the tribesman was a head full of steam. Nevertheless, the boy sheathed his sword. The rest looked on in amusement.

"I'm going, too." Iroh said, stroking his gray beard. "Azula and Ozai are my family; it is my responsibility to set them straight." Sasuke's eye twitched ever so slightly at the old man's words. It was a sense of déjà vu: Naruto had said something along those lines back when he was still in his own world. He was shaken from his memories by the others agreement that they would help.

Zuko looked overwhelmed to Sasuke's amusement. "Uncle…everyone." The group looked determined to help the Fire Lord out. But they realized almost at once that they were missing someone.

The GAang looked over at the dozing Uchiha in unison; Sasuke looked up, still twirling kunai around. He looked up to see everyone staring at him expectantly. "What…?" he hadn't paid attention to any of it, and the stares were starting to annoy him.

"Hey what about you, Sasuke…?" Katara asked the person who had been getting on everyone's nerves minutes ago. "Will you join us?"

Sasuke let out a sigh, deciding to anger them even more than ever. He remained silent as if contemplating his options. Then he said with a hint of a yawn, "Nah, I think I'll pass."

There was deafening silence. Sasuke looked at them, questioningly, before sipping his tea, "I just finished convalescing; I just came out of a week-long coma and you ask me to go running around the world fighting small fries that any mercenaries can handle…?" he scoffed, and resealed his kunai knives into the seals drawn on his wrists. _There would hardly be a fight if I was there anyway…_

The group just stared at the teen disapprovingly, then Suki said, "I know you're just recovering but you managed to hold your own against all of us back at the beach; you defeated us so easily. You could really help us with this."

Sasuke rested the side of his head on his fist, leaning against the window. "I'm sure you can handle the two nuisances yourselves." He paused, "There…that was a compliment."

…

"God, that guy is a jerk!" Sokka fumed with the rest of them.

The group had boarded Zuko's aircraft, a giant red hot air balloon with a black Fire Nation Emblem blazing in the center, ten minutes later after the discussion at the tea shop and Sasuke's insistent refusal to join them. Food, clothes, and drinks were prepared almost in a blink of an eye or maybe it was the atmosphere and mood that made time seem to just fly.

"Tell me about it." Katara muttered darkly. She looked over at the others. Aang was twirling his staff around to ease his mind; he had been angry with the newcomer also but then came to terms with it, settling for a melancholy state of mind. Toph, Zuko, and Iroh all still had those looks of disapproval plastered on their faces. The group sat in the large room, doing nothing except thinking over the way Sasuke had acted.

"Well, you can't blame him," Aang said, trying to reason with himself and everyone else. "I mean he only just recovered and then we ask him to save the world with us. He barely knows any of us and anyway, that's a lot of pressure."

"Yes, but he would've been really helpful if he had come." Katara stated sadly. She turned to Ty Lee who had remained her usual cheery self, trying to comfort everyone, though her smile seemed slightly strained. "What do you think, Ty?"

The acrobat sighed. "I don't know. I don't think it had anything to do with convalescing and not prepared, he was just being mean." A hurt expression crossed over her features but it was so fleeting that Katara and the rest thought they must have imagined it.

"Don't think too badly of Sasuke." Iroh said suddenly, the group turned their gaze to him. Iroh took out his music instrument from seemingly out of nowhere. "When I looked at the boy, I saw a devastated soul. I just had a feeling that this child had experienced something horrible at a young age; something that no human can ever walk away unscarred. I saw…someone who once had everything but threw it all away only to realize too late that the past he had discarded was precious." The old man sat back and took out a rag to polish his instrument. "So don't think too badly of him. Sasuke is somebody who is still healing from internal wounds."

The group listened to the wisdom of the man, feeling slightly taken aback at the sudden wise crack and ashamed at their resentment toward the raven-haired teen. Zuko smiled at his Uncle's words. _It's just like Uncle to see through everyone and to what's really going on…_

"But," Iroh added just as suddenly as before. "I still think Sasuke should have at least seen us off. Maybe a few tears of goodbye. That was not polite." He frowned while the others face-palmed at the trivial thing. Iroh sat back and played his instrument, a slow and mournful war song.

…..

Half way to their destination, there was a loud crash and the air ship swayed this way and that like a pendulum. Suki and the rest quickly looked out of the porthole to see fire benders with hang gliders strapped onto their backs flying around them. They also wore oxygen masks to keep them from suffering suffocation at such high altitudes. They swarmed around the hot air balloon like a horde of angry bees ready to sting if provoked; Some swooping around, circling the airship, like hawks or carrion eaters.

Aang quickly ran out to the door of the ship, leading to thin air. He hurriedly opened it and leapt out, spreading his hang-glider as he did, yelling behind his shoulder. "I'll handle this." His friends could only watch, helplessly, through the window until Zuko finally stood and went to the door, still ajar.

"What are you doing?" Ty Lee yelled over the howl of the wind.

"I'm going to help Aang." he said before jumping through the door, using his fire bending to propel him through the air.

…..

The fire benders circled the two in the air, trying to form a circle as the two sides bombarded each other with balls of fire ( and in Aang's case, water, wind and earth as well). The aerial battle continued but the two heroes were tiring, Aang and Zuko looked spent and barely had enough energy to stay in the air.

Aang closed his eyes; sweat seemed to pour from him. _This is it…!_ He reopened his eyes and they were a glowing white. "Time to end this!" his voice sounded like a thousand Avatars before were speaking threw him all in unison. He went around blasting water, earth, wind, and fire at the Fire benders but for every man he took down, a half a dozen seemed to take his spot. Even the Avatar couldn't take on an army of rogue fire benders all at once without destroying everything around him. Then the enemy shot a blast of flames at Zuko's air ship. There was no time to bend it out of the way so Aang took the blow and fell, plummeting to the ground. Zuko followed suit, exhausted and out of breath due to the lack of oxygen at such high elevation.

Together the two fell, their friends watching in horror, to the trees below…only to be broken from their fall by a giant falcon's back.

"Thought you might need a hand. But that's out of the question; you all are so weak you'd need reinforcements every ten seconds if it's from this world." Aang's eye twitched, the only one who would insult them out right and honest was Sasuke. He looked up and his suspicions were confirmed.

"I thought you were going to rest back at Kyoshi." Zuko said, smirking.

Sasuke shrugged. "Change of plans. It was boring there so I decided to trail y'all. Good thing I did, you dunces were about to be killed."

Back on the air ship, Iroh couldn't help but smile. So this was how Sasuke handled his business. The Uchiha had just been playing with them in the very beginning, by refusing to help only to see the group's anger, then following them after they had left. He glanced over at the others, upon looking at their half annoyed and half relieved expressions, he grasped that they must have come across the same conclusion he did.

…..

Deep down inside, Sasuke was irritated. He hadn't really wanted to come along but had decided to anyway. He could just hear the joyful, happy, and annoying things the group would say to him; it made him sick just thinking about it.

The former Akatsuki focused his attention on the fire benders flying around him, warily. All of them began throwing fire balls when he looked up.

Sasuke smirked to himself. "Well, like the saying goes: 'fight fire with fire'."

**Fire Style: Giant Fire Ball Jutsu!**

The fire ball overwhelmed the feeble little flames the fire benders threw at him and sent half of the flock to hell, incinerating their bodies. The Uchiha sent colossal balls of fire one after another at the hang gliding fire benders, careful to not hit the air ship. Then Sasuke threw two demon wind-mill shurikens that he had summoned from his weapon seals.

**Art of the Shadow Shuriken!**

The third and fourth demon shurikens appeared under the first and second, all of them flying around slicing a few fire benders that were caught unawares. The rest dodged the attacks with ease, not knowing that there were strings attached…literally. Sasuke pulled the chakra threads that were attached onto the shurikens and they came zooming back from behind the fire benders. The weapons killed several and wounded a few.

Sasuke brought the shurikens back to his hand and resealed them.

**Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!**

While the fire benders were preoccupied with the fiery weapons that were flying their way, Sasuke closed his eyes preparing for the finishing blow.

**Sharingan!**

The Uchiha reopened his eyes to reveal pupils that were no longer pitch black but blood red. He formed the hand signs out of habit, then brought his hand out, outstretched upwards to the heavens.

**Chidori (One Thousand Birds)!**

The sound of his attack was earsplitting, deafening even with the great gusts of the cold winds blowing the sound around, distorting it. Sasuke concentrated and the lightning stretched, making a sword that extended, slicing the remainder of the fire benders into ribbons of flesh and blood. "Be gone, pests, by the piercing screeches of a thousand birds."

…..

The falcon Sasuke summoned flew level to the airship's door. Lifting the haggard Avatar and Fire Lord by their collars, the Uchiha threw them unceremoniously inside. He stepped into the large room of the air ship, his bird puffing out of existence as he closed the door behind him.

Sasuke held up a hand at the waiting people, almost ready to rush him with hugs and kisses. _Better insult them so they tone a little down._

"I realized that you all would get yourselves killed if I was not present to save you dunces. And I was right." Sasuke gestured at them with one hand, and the dent on the wall, where the fire benders had attacked, with the other. "And at any rate, I owe you for the hospitality; I can't stand being in debt to anyone much less children…" he trailed off at the looks on all their faces. "What?"

"You refused to help just to get us all worked up and angry, didn't you?" Suki asked, trying her hardest not to smile. The others were trying, too, but were failing miserably. "You were gonna come anyway."

"I knew you wouldn't be so mean as to leave us behind like that!" Ty Lee cheered, smiling genuinely at him.

"Guess you aren't that much of a jerk after all," Sokka said. The rest nodded in agreement. "But that was so like you to put us down. Then follow us and come up with a mean excuse."

Sasuke sighed, annoyed at their merriment. Half of him wanted to kill them for such care-free behaviors, the other half just wanted to get this over with. "Hmph…!" he decided on the latter; unworthy people aren't worth killing anyway. The others just laughed, thinking he was just flustered.

Iroh pulled him to sit with the others at the chairs surrounding a large, round table. "Glad you decided to join us, we were starting to hate you, Sasuke. " Sasuke smirked at that. Iroh continued, taking out a tea kettle and heating it with his fire bending, "Now let's have a snack and some tea to wash it down."

….

A distance away, a hooded figure had been observing the aerial combat from the beginning to the end. He laughed maniacally, "Well, Sasuke, looks like I found you at last…!" Kabuto pulled back his hood and grinned. His eyes were slits like a snake; he had absorbed Orochimaru's power awhile ago to prepare to battle the last Uchiha. "Sasuke, I will have your head for murdering my master."

Figures in black robes stood behind them and as they lifted their zombie faces, they were revealed: Kakuzu, Sasori, Diedara, Nagato, and finally…Itachi. Kabuto looked up at the slowly fading air ship. "I wonder how you will react when you fight your brother once more, Sasuke. But first, I need more pawns…"

…..

Back in the hot air balloon, Sasuke sneezed. "Someone's talking about me." He muttered to himself, before taking his cup of tea. He reclined back as he drank, his thoughts slowly turning back to the time when he last saw Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto. Memories resurfacing painfully, he remembered the times of Cell 7. He wanted to be back with them again, back to the minor missions that they usually received and just back to the way things were but it's too late. So Sasuke puts the flash backs on replay and relives the memories…

…

**So…was this a good chapter? I sure hope so. I followed some advice and looked over this chapter before posting it. Forgive me for any mistakes that I have overlooked…please. Oh and the last part will hold some significance to chapters to come. I'm not sure if I should have Sasuke see his friends again or not. It depends…lol. Some things seemed rushed to me but please overlook that. XD Please review this! Til next time…see ya~**


	10. Reliving the Past

**New Chapter! I don't know but this one I know I rushed it. Please forgive me. If you don't like it then just review and tell me so I can change it. XD I tried my best to have everyone in character and there's a little surprise at the end…XD Well read on and review afterward~ please! Also I'll be posting a new poll on whether this fic should be a Sasuke x Ty Lee or a Sasuke x Sakura or other. **

…

The memories resurface to the top, bringing the Uchiha into his own little world as he slowly sinks into a disorientating slumber. Sasuke closed his eyes, dozing off while the others sat in the front of the hot air balloon, conversing amongst one another, laughing occasionally.

They were still only about halfway to their destination: the rogue Fire Nation's lair, which Zuko's spies had discovered. The anxiety was building up in everyone…except Sasuke, making them feel rather talkative and social. The Uchiha didn't want to talk with the others just yet, not when he was still saddened over the fact that he had left his friends again. But at least this time he didn't have a choice. And anyway, he wouldn't have a good comment to throw in if he joined the conversation so he decided to give the others a break from his observations of their obvious weaknesses and lack of skill.

The best thing to do now was to catch some neglected sleep while he still had the chance, before he was forced to fight again; even if the opponents he will most likely face are small fries, he'd hate to mess up just because he didn't sleep when he had the chance.

Slowly, the sounds around him faded into nothingness and he drifted into sleep.

…

Ty Lee laughed and giggled with the rest of her friends at Sokka's jokes; they weren't all that funny but the expressions Katara's brother pulled were just plain hilarious. Not as hilarious as the angry ones that were usually reserved now for Sasuke's back-handed comments but still funny all the same.

The tribesman grinned smugly, all the while resting an arm on Suki's shoulders. The Kyoshi leader laughed and shooed his arm away, breaking into peals of laughter at the boy's feigned hurt. Sokka had just been telling them of how he had owned the leader of the poetry club he had 'accidently' barged into.

Aang and Katara sat together with them reminiscing about the past and how far they have come, like the deep and cheesy thinkers they were, as well as joining in on the comedy with Sokka. Ty Lee, Zuko and Uncle Iroh sat there listening and just feeling happy that they were with their friends, while Iroh talked to Ty Lee, Toph, and the rest, when they had had enough of Sokka's jokes, about the adventures he and Zuko had before they joined the GAang. There were some interesting ones and one of the funniest of them all was when Zuko's uncle had tricked Zuko into thinking that the lotus tile he had was valuable when actually it was from his shirt button. Then there was another one where he had flirted with the lady at the earth Kingdom to get their passports.

Together, the group almost forgot that they would be fighting rogue fire benders, not to mention Azula and Ozai. It took awhile before the young acrobat realized suddenly that a certain raven-haired teen was missing out on all the fun and action. In reality only several minutes had passed since the teen had spoken but she already began to miss the newcomer's mean comments and the arrogant air that seemed to belittle everyone around him, except Iroh and Zuko; they had become quick friends with the frustrating guy. The calm atmosphere he brought about was rather comforting to the Fire Nation x-circus girl, and the others seemed to share the acrobat's feelings since Suki asked suddenly, "Hey…where's Sasuke?" amazed that the newcomer could stay silent for that long and not chip in a mean comment.

The group looked around, half amazed that the Uchiha hadn't interjected and thrown a comment at every foolish thing Sokka had done. They realized why when they looked over at the back of the room to find Sasuke sleeping.

"There!" Sokka said as he pointed to the place everyone was looking at already. The discovered teen's mouth twitched as a ghost of a frown past his features, as if somehow even when asleep Sasuke had realized that the only place where he couldn't be disturbed was found out. Ty Lee found this funny and giggled slightly while Iroh raised an eyebrow at the boy's unusually sharp senses. And despite the ruckus and loud talking coming from them, the cloaked teen still managed to sleep soundlessly.

"No duh." Toph said, punching the water tribesman. "We know already, genius." Suki rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's innocent stupidity and sighed. A few of them returned to their previous conversations thinking nothing of it while the others continued to stare.

The acrobat was one of them; Ty Lee's gaze seemed to keep returning back to where Sasuke was sleeping. The swordsman's eyes were serenely closed shut, the side of his head resting on his fist as his body leaned back on the reclined chair; he was very much asleep alright.

"He's less annoying when he's out cold." Katara joked. Everyone chuckled at that before turning their attention to Uncle Iroh who had proposed a game of Shogi. As the old man explained the game to the group, Ty Lee looked back over her shoulder, a little shyly. _This isn't like me…to be all nervous around him, even when he's asleep._ She shook her head slightly, trying to shake the feeling away. Glancing over his blank features, the acrobat smiled. _He looks so peaceful when he sleeps…_

She couldn't seem to tear her gaze, her eyes fixed on the cloaked, sleeping figure, fascinated. She watched as the Uchiha's peaceful expression turned into a slight frown, eyebrows furrowing. The girl remembered what Iroh had said about Sasuke still healing from internal wounds and looking at his face. She could tell that Zuko's uncle had been right.

"Ahem…" there was a tap on her shoulder and she turned around to see Suki smirking at her. "Done staring at pretty boy there…?" her leader teased, breaking the young girl's train of thought. The rest of her friends were trying their hardest to smother their laughter behind their tea cups.

"Ah, young love at its fullest." Iroh said, clasping his hands together, and then clapping his nephew on the back. "I remember those days. But you two are moving way to slow; even Zuko and Mai's relationship is faster than yours." Zuko slapped his palm on his forehead like he was used to doing when around his uncle.

Ty Lee flushed, and then pouted at being caught in the act. "Aw c'mon…" she whined. _I'm not going to hear the end of this…_ "It's nothing like that…"

"Yet." Katara finished, grinning while Aang looked on beside her. There was a sudden thwack from above their heads, the group whipped around to see a kunai stuck on the wall beside their table. Iroh's eyebrows raised an inch higher. "Seems like our new friend has woken up." He turned, expecting to see the teen looking disgruntled at them but what met his eyes was a still very much asleep Uchiha. The group sweat dropped.

_He can fight when he's sound asleep?_ Sokka was starting to get scared; the others weren't too far from it either while Iroh just laughed his raucous laughter.

…

Sasuke found himself falling again, through the disorientating cold blackness, as he wondered why he could still develop conscious thought and still maintain the five senses. But that was the least of his worries. He fell through gray clouds and kept falling; he had still been able to hear the group's conversation awhile ago but now it was growing distant. He began to think that this falling down the void was never-ending when he finally landed on the same cracked mirrored floor as before.

He looked warily at the cracks, expecting the ground to shatter underneath his feet like the last time. But his dread was prolonged because nothing happened. He soon came to the conclusion that this time around it wasn't going to break.

Suddenly, images came in a flurry of color in the once colorless dreamscape; the scenes of his life flashed before his widened eyes. Sasuke took a step away at the sudden apparition of the play back, startled at the vividness of reliving the past.

"_Your first exercise is to try and take these bells from me. The one tied to the tree will be sent back to the Academy for more lessons so keep that in mind…"_

The bell training his old sensei had put Naruto, Sakura, and him through was projected in fine detail before his eyes. Every last detail defined, Naruto fighting Kakashi, using the shadow clones and almost succeeding in getting a bell. Sakura ailing miserably and then it was his turn. Then Kakashi had told them they were worthless only to pass them when he and Sakura offered their lunches to Naruto.

And then the image was replaced as suddenly as it came…

His first real mission to protect the bridge builder, Tazuna, from the hired assassins came to view. The ambush flashed past and he saw Kakashi, Sakura, and himself protecting the old man while Naruto stood there dumbstruck. He saw Kakashi's fight with Zabuza, demon of the mist, and their master being captured by the rogue ninja in the water prison. Then Naruto and him teaming up and freeing Kakashi through Naruto's brilliant plan. The Sasuke from the past fighting Haku when suddenly Naruto appears, making things a little more complicated…

"_I swore to not die until I killed him…my brother. So…Naruto, Don't you dare die…"_

He remembered falling into darkness then and waking up to find that the mission was completed.

Suddenly, the images skip to the time of the Chunin Exam, where he met some interesting Shinobi like Gaara of the Desert. The first part of the exam: the written exam Sasuke remembered clear as day, like every other scene and time in his past. Naruto's determination and outburst, letting them overcome the first part of the exam. Then there came the Forest of Death part of the exam, where they encountered Orochimaru for the first time.

"_What's the matter…? Are you okay…chicken?"_

Sasuke's fight with the creep, leading to him obtaining the curse mark, was still horridly vivid in his memory. Then the second to last part of the training where the proctors put the different teams against each other flickered before Sasuke's eyes. Then his training with Kakashi where he learned Chidori for the last part of the Chunin Exam consumed his vision. The Sound and Sand Invasion had come unexpectedly and had led to his and Gaara's rematch at the forest. Then Naruto and Sakura showed up to put a stop to it by Kakashi's orders; that was where Naruto showed his true abilities: summoning the toad, the shadow clones, everything was so clear and detailed.

Sasuke could still feel the twinge of jealousy, after the battle, at Naruto's improvement. He remembered his encounter with Itachi, his brother, and afterwards the fight at the roof of the hospital with Naruto.

The images flash and flash, some more vibrant than the others but everything struck a chord in Sasuke's being. _What is my dream telling me…?_

Kakashi now stands before his past self, holding the chakra string that bound him to the trunk of a tree.

"_Sasuke, I taught you the Chidori in order for you to protect your friends…not for you to use against them in a fight to the death."_

"_Shut Up! What do you know about me? How would you know how I feel? Do you know how it feels to lose everything? Let me kill your friends and family and then you'll see!"_

"_That's fine by me…because they are all already dead."_

The images and scenes shift to the time when he left Konoha. Sakura's crying face came into view and her hurt features appeared in his sight.

"_D-Don't leave, Sasuke! Don't leave me….!"_

"_I'm sorry…"_ and she fell unconscious before his feet.

Now, the pictures before him go to his battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End. Looking back at it, Sasuke realized how fitting it had been for their battle to be there of all places; there where the First Hokage, Senju of the Wood Clan, had fought the Uchiha's leader, Madara.

Naruto stood over him now, pupils in slits and glowing red due to the Kyuubi's influence; the nine-tails chakra was beginning to take over. Tears were coursing down Naruto's cheeks. He stood there facing Naruto as the lake they stood upon began to form a typhoon around his blonde companion.

"_Sasuke, I swear I'll bring you back to Konoha even if it means breaking every bone in your body!'_

"_What are you…?"  
"Your friend…!"_

Now, Naruto crouched over him, clutching his collar in anger at his own stubbornness.

"_Why won't you come home…?"_

"_What do you know about me? You've never known your family! You've been alone from the very beginning! How can you understand what it's like to lose everything: your family, your clan, your pride?"_

"_It's true that I've never had a family. But when I met Master Iruka…I thought…that maybe that was what it was like to have a father. And when I met you…I thought…that maybe that was what it was like to have a brother…!"_

"_Naruto…"_

The last Uchiha fell to his knees at the images that seemed to blur past his eyes and almost overlap each other as they all pushed into his vision. The images forced themselves to the surface, going through his mind, nearly driving him insane.

The pictures flash to three years later…

Naruto, Sakura, and two other Shinobi attempting to bring him back only to find they were hopelessly outmatched by his abnormal speed and strength. The pictures flashed to the time when the Sky Village attacked the Leaf Village and Orochimaru sent him out on a mission to acquire the scroll with the completed research on immortality. He and Naruto had to form an alliance of sorts and team up to face the monster that had once been the old man.

He remembered Naruto's words as he broke the portion of the platform Sasuke had been standing on, sending him out of the flying Sky fortress, letting him escape, letting him go on.

"_I promise you, Sasuke, that one day I'll bring you back to Konoha."_

He remembered his mental and physical battle against Orochimaru and defeating him so he could absorb his powers. Then his recruiting trip when he took in Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo. Then he fought Itachi and after that he learned the truth…well, half the truth from the man who called himself Madara. His fight with the eight-tailed beast's host was one that he could never forget; it had been such a close battle, his friends that he recruited had done so much for him: Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo had healed him protected him until he used the Amaterasu to defeat the Jinchurriki.

He saw, again, his quest for vengeance and killing Danzo. Then he saw his attempt to kill everyone he had been acquainted with to cleanse the Uchiha's impurities.

The final battle between him and Naruto flashed before his eyes like every image had but this one he looked on drinking it with reverence because there he had finally understood…finally realized…something.

There had been a flash of red in Naruto's eyes then…but not due to the Kyuubi, Sasuke was sure. It turned out his older brother had given Naruto the Kekkai Genkai, the bloodline limit, of the Uchiha Clan so that he can have one last attempt at convincing his younger brother to follow his last wishes. It led to Naruto doing the last Uchiha technique: Izanami. Itachi's spirit had emerged and explained everything then.

Then, Madara came and tried to take Sasuke's eyes for his own so that he could acquire more power. Naruto and Sasuke himself fought the Uchiha's ancestor. Sasuke saw the fight replay before him, feeling again that satisfying contentment that he had finally done something worthwhile. Ultimately, he had used the Totsuka blade, he had acquired from Itachi, to banish the spirit of Madara into the realm of eternal illusions and nightmare. But the miserable wretch had one last trick up his sleeve and he warped Sasuke into a different dimension.

The images began to overlap once more and overwhelm Sasuke in its brilliance, blurring together again into something incomprehensible. Sasuke knelt there with his head in his hands, waiting for the mirrored floor to break but it remained intact, with the little cracks running through it.

Rain drops began to fall and smear the images, turning them into nothing more than blotches of color that dripped down into a puddle onto the broken, mirrored floor becoming indistinguishable as it left a blank, white canvas where the flashing, blurring pictures used to be.

Sasuke watched it all happen in confusion. Then he realized what this dream was telling him. He understood the meaning of this and it hit him harder than any other saddening realization: he had lost everything again; it was probably too late…to get it all back.

The past still remained in his mind, replaying itself over and over; it must've been hours but Sasuke doubted it.

_This dream has no time_, he thought. The words that were spoken to him that tried to change him from his ways still echoed in his head, deafeningly clear and loud.

The blank, white canvas before him began to paint itself again, prepared to show more scenes of the past. This time the rain didn't affect it; the droplets of water stopped and then the canvas began to burn to nothingness as if to burn this into the Uchiha's mind and memory. The words that echo began to buzz and distort, then fade into muffled noises so distant and faint that Sasuke almost believed he was imagining things. Everything before him was distorting and the rain that had let out began again as if it had only ceased to let the pictures burn.

Sasuke let his hands fall to his sides as he stared up at the black emptiness of the void he was trapped in, his expression blank and calm albeit bleak. The rain fell on his face and streamed down to his neck and downward still; it looked like he was crying when he stared at himself in the mirrored floor; he didn't know whether he could, it had felt like his tears had long since dried up.

Sasuke looked around, waiting for this nightmare to stop. Then a door opened up in front of him, out of nowhere, revealing his new friends just like his last dream had. But this time, it wasn't the same. His body didn't respond to his brain and so he gave up; he didn't go through it. And there, he chose to stay in his own realm, refusing to leave, refusing to let go.

Sasuke stayed kneeling, watching everything change and fade, until there was almost nothing but the door, the rain, and him. Getting to his feet with some difficulty, he stood there in a daze. The scenes and the illustrations and the voices had left him with a feeling of numbness. Pain…emptiness…so numb.

He took a step toward the door but stopped when he felt his foot hit something that jingled as it rolled on the ground. "What—?" Sasuke glanced down to see a pair of bells tied to a string. The bells of Cell Seven's first ever drill where Kakashi passed them; the bells Naruto gave him at their last battle.

"_See these bells…? You remember our first drill right, Sasuke?" Naruto held them out to him. "Kakashi-sensei gave them to me as a memento of back then. Remember he told us all: 'It's true that in the Shinobi world, ninjas who abandon the mission are considered scum…but…Shinobi who abandon their comrades are even worse than scum!'"_

With that, Naruto had tossed him the bells. Back then, Sasuke had realized what Naruto had said…

He had abandoned them, his old friends, once already. He couldn't do that again. Sasuke stopped, deserting his friends once was enough…_I'm not going to do it again… I'll never let go…this time._

Sasuke closed his eyes, still clutching the bells in his right hand.

The rain stopped, the door disappeared and the ashes of the canvas were blown away to be replaced by new pictures. The cracked, mirrored floor mended itself, reforming into flawless, smooth ground. Sasuke turned and saw his old and new friends together talking and laughing. _So it's one big, happy family, huh?_

He smirked. _That's better…_ he pocketed the bells and closed his eyes once more. _I have a feeling…even though it seems impossible. I just feel that I'll see my old friends again …_

…

"Are you ready…Naruto-kun?" Sakura stood to the side with Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai. The other teams stood back behind them.

The blonde headed teen stretched and sighed. "All right, let's go get Sasuke back." He took a step forward before turning to Kakashi. "Uh, hehe, where do we go…?"

"You idiot." Sakura said while the others face palmed.

"Madara sent Sasuke through a different dimension so we'll do the same." Their sensei sighed. "I'll use my Mangekyo Sharingan to warp us all there—"

"Wait! Hey, hey, wait up!" the group turned to see 'Tobi' running toward them, nearly tripping over his feet as he attempted to catch up.

"Huh? I thought you were sucked into the world of nightmare place." Naruto stated blankly. "How are you still here?"

"That was Madara that was sent there. I'm Obito, there's a big difference." The Uchiha said, raising his arms in defense. "Kakashi didn't tell you about me…?"

"Eh? Don't make me seem like the one at fault. And why are you late?"

"I had to help this old lady down the street with her groceries and then I got something in my eye so I spent a couple minutes trying to get rid of that something. It was really a bother but I managed." The others stared at the man, disbelieving. _He's just like Kakashi and Naruto combined_, Sakura thought, eye twitching. _Weird excuses for lateness and a flamboyant attitude…_

Kakashi just chuckled a little at that. "Just like back then…" Obito had always been late and then after his supposed death, it sort of rubbed off on the son of the White Fang.

"I've come to join you." Obito said more seriously. "Sasuke is part of my clan and besides I was part of the Akatsuki, even though I didn't have a choice in the matter, I feel like I need to make up for that. I have to help you all as best as I can."

Naruto nodded at that, the others seemed to approve also, and then turned to Kakashi. "All right no use waiting around here. Granny Tsunade's already said goodbye to us. Let's go!" the rest of them nodding in agreement at the Jinchurriki's reasonable statement. Kakashi lifted his headband to reveal his Sharingan eye.

"This might be a rough trip but here goes."

…

**So…was the ending too cheesy or what? I don't know about this chapter. I really don't know. If there are any objections please tell me in a review. I'll change as soon as I can. Also I have a request for a Sasuke/Mai story-is it Mai or Mei? Hmm. Well please tell me what you all think of this new chapter. Not too bad? It isn't too short is it? I hope so~! Let me know anything of this fic, I'd love to hear your criticism and comments. It might encourage me to update faster…XD just saying that and putting it out there…'til next time.**


	11. Confrontation:Things Get Interesting

**Chapter…11! Yup it's up! I made this about as long as the last Chapter…I think….hopefully (4500+). Anyway, I know the last one didn't show that much action so I decided to have some more of that in this one. I probably won't be updating this one as much as I am at the moment now because my other fics are way behind (only a few chapter s have been posted DX). Anyway, please Read on and Review!**

…

"Hey, maybe we should wake him up." Katara said, nudging Aang and staring at the still asleep teen in the back.

They were a little over halfway to their destination and the atmosphere was growing tense; they would soon be confronting the enemy and nerves were at the edge because of this.

"You do it." Aang said a little scared at how the Uchiha could react to his surroundings even during his deep slumber. "I don't want to get near him, he might attack me." The others snickered silently.

"Ty, go wake sleeping beauty up with a kiss or something," Suki said in a mock commanding voice, trying to keep a straight face. "You're our only hope."

The Fire Nation girl pouted at the jibe and looked away. "No, since you're making fun of me."

"C'mon, Ty, you know you want to." Zuko teased. "Where's that entire flirty attitude of yours going? This should be child's play for you."

The Kyoshi warrior was about to protest that she never went that far with anyone when Uncle Iroh interjected. "Now, now, my niece, don't rush these things." Iroh said, grinning broadly. "You mustn't push young love too roughly and fast or it might crash like that time that our ship sailed down a water fall. I felt sorry for those pirates; thank heavens we didn't have to experience it."

The rest of the group couldn't seem to keep a straight face at the old man's love advice except the acrobat, who was fuming over the whole thing, and Zuko, who was still angry at letting his ship get stolen by some lowly pirates back then.

After the laughter died down, there was an awkward silence; there happened to be a lot more lately Iroh noted, now that the Uchiha had joined them. Zuko broke it, "So…who's going to be the martyr and wake Sasuke?" there were fingers pointing every which way and direction but no definite someone volunteered.

"Oh, c'mon, this is going nowhere. I'll wake him!" Sokka said, after he lost his umpteenth match of Shogi against Iroh. "Wake up!" he yelled, furiously, at the raven-haired swordsman, throwing a lotus tile his way.

The group watched with bated breath as it flew in the air toward Sasuke in slow motion; it would've hit its target had its intended subject been asleep.

Sasuke caught the tile without opening his eyes and tossed it back to Sokka, hitting the boy smack dab in the forehead. "What's going on? Why did you wake me?" the former Akatsuki said, opening an eye and staring at the GAang with a look that could kill. "What is the reason that you would bring me from my sleep?"

The group seemed to slightly quaver at the cold gaze directed toward them. It was like a torrent of fear hit them full force and they were too scared to even speak or just plain speechless. Iroh merely chuckled softly and reset the Shogi board. _Someone hasn't slept too well…_

"Uhhh…we're almost there. We thought that you might want to…be awake by now and prepare…" Aang said nervously, trailing off at the Uchiha's unblinking stare. The young monk quickly added in hastily, defending himself, "Hey! Don't be angry at me. Sokka was the one who threw the tile." The Avatar quickly stepped back behind Katara, even though Sasuke was all the way at the back of the hot air balloon; a little more distance and a human barrier couldn't hurt.

Sokka sweated under the newcomer's glare and started stuttering and jumbling words together until he seemed to speak a different alien language. Suki took pity on him and clapped a hand to his shoulder. When the tribesman turned to her, she punched him in the stomach hard and chided the poor boy for being a scared little puppy; even though she had been a little intimidated herself.

Sasuke stretched then rested his head on his fist once again, closing his eyes. "'Almost there' isn't good enough. I'm not pleased at being woken up just for this and preparations are only for amateurs. You all need to prepare because you are incompetent, I need my sleep because I'm tired." With that he slumped in his chair, reclining and went back to sleep.

The GAang sat there flabbergasted then broke from their initial shock; they shouldn't have been surprised; insults and Sasuke went hand in hand.

A vein seemed to always appear on each of their heads whenever Sasuke spoke. Iroh clapped his hands together and laughed his loud, jovial laugh. "Alright, everyone, how about a game of ma jang? If you don't know how to play I'll teach you. And don't worry; I haven't played in a while so we're all at the same level." The group grumbled an agreement and focused on the old Dragon of the West as he explained the rules.

On the third game, the air ship suddenly swerved violently to the side sending them all slamming against the wall of the float. They found out why when a huge blast of fire blew past them; they had finally arrived at the enemy territory.

"It seems like we alerted border patrol or something because this is definitely not the heart of the lair." Toph commented, gazing out of the porthole.

Sokka took control of the matter immediately going from comedian to tactical genius. "We need to backtrack and journey to the heart of the enemy territory on foot. If we can hide our air ship somewhere safe then we could monitor the enemy's activity right at their doorstep! But we need to handle the border patrol first since they spotted us, no doubt they will sound the alarm."

"I'll handle them." Zuko said, standing up. His recent injuries from the aerial battle had been healed thanks to Katara. "One of you go to the pilot cabin and tell him to make a detour and get us a safe distance away." He took a step toward the door.

"Wait," Sokka said. The Fire Lord turned slightly. "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves so I don't think you should go. Ty Lee, Suki, and myself will since we don't possess any bending and our way of fighting isn't all that flashy."

Zuko shrugged and sat back down. "Suit yourselves." When the three had disappeared through the door, Zuko turned his attention to the rest. "Alright, I'm not that much of a tactician but Mai made me study tactics when I became Fire Lord so I'm not all that clueless about it. When we land, we need to move fast. Even though border patrol is pretty much taken care of, Ozai and Azula might get suspicious when they don't hear them reporting anything."

Katara interjected, adding her own two cents to the mix. "I know we shouldn't divide our forces but I think that if we meet any obstacles, one of us should stay behind and deal with it, allowing the others to escape." The others nodded in consent.

"I'm not sure this is going to work." Toph said, biting her bottom lip. "Look out there at the opening. There are so many fire benders and I think some other rogue benders, too. By the looks of it the remnants of the Dai Li are there." She pointed out through the port mole at the congregated masses out at the glade.

"It seems Azula and Ozai are giving some sort of speech." Iroh observed calmly. "With them gathered all over there, we can take care of their rations and shelter."

"But look how many there are." Katara said despairingly. "We can't take them all on."

"Maybe not us," Zuko said. "But I'm sure Sasuke could. Seeing as he fought you all in a spar and defeated you without breaking a sweat." He turned to Aang. "And you can probably take care of some of them, seeing as how you wiped out entire fleets of Fire Nation ships when the old Fire Nation tried to invade the Water Nation."

"I don't know. Sasuke, what do you think of this—?" Katara cut off her question when she saw the swordsman still slumped in the back sleeping like there was no tomorrow. "What is he doing? Sleeping at a time like this? Someone wake him up!"

When no one complied, Toph stood and stomped over to the sleeping Uchiha. She grabbed him by the collar and shook him violently. "Wake up, idiot! We have our hands full here with tactics and crap and you're just sleeping? Wake up!" but the newcomer was too deep in his own little world of dreams to care or to even try to bring himself back to consciousness.

Finally the small earth bender girl gave up and settled for calling over a scared Aang and Katara to drag Sasuke to their table. The blimp landed at a huge cliff that jutted out of one of the mountains. There was a cave there to which Aang and Katara proceeded to explore.

"No detours, remember." Iroh called after them and sighed before playing his horn-like instrument while Zuko observed the surroundings, mapping out the land in his mind's eye.

There was a valley below and a river ran through the two mountains. To the left and right was the forest, the mountain shielded them from the view of the enemy territory which was to be desired since the hot air balloon was red and it would stick out from the mountain range like a sore thumb if they had landed somewhere facing the rogue's lair.

"It's all clear. It's safe." Zuko turned to see Aang and Katara walking back out of the cave. He nodded satisfied then the remaining group began to unload the baggage and food. After all was done and prepared, they set out.

…

"Uncle, why do we have to carry him?" Zuko said as he lugged one side of the stretcher on his shoulder while Aang held the other end on his. The two of them were panting, having walked a mile or so having to carry such a heavy load. "Just wake him up!"

"He won't wake up. No matter what we do. I have to say this boy is even more of a heavy sleeper than me." Zuko's uncle walked ahead of them leading them with the flame on his palm through the darkening forest; night was steadily creeping upon them, the sun setting to let the moon rise. "And he's too powerful for us to let him sleep back at the camp. He'll be useful in the upcoming battle."

A vein throbbed on both the Avatar's and the Fire Lord's foreheads. The moment the Uchiha proved that he wasn't as bad as they thought him to be, another bad quality was brought to light; the raven-haired teen never ceased to annoy them and amuse Iroh it seemed. But the old man's words were true and that left his nephew no choice but to continue to carry the load.

Katara and Toph stood to either side of the stretcher trying to comfort and encourage their friends; in Toph's case, she was just silent and keeping them company.

"Hey! You're finally here. We finished off the border patrol in record time." Sokka ran up to them but when he reached Zuko, the Fire Lord plopped one side of the stretcher onto the boy's shoulders.

"Ahh, there, you can handle the weight a little while can't you?" Zuko stretched while Sokka readjusted his position, glaring at the Fire Lord. "Hey! Me and Aang had to carry this guy down the mountain and through the forest; all of that a mile or so. Carrying such a heavy weight for so long is unhealthy for you."

Suki and Ty Lee arrived a little later after Sokka's rendezvous with the rest of the GAang; evidently, the Water tribesman had ran to find them to tell of the good news. They took one look at the stretcher and knew who it was.

"So he still hasn't woken up…?" Suki not so much as asked but stated the fact as it was before her eyes. "Dang…he's a heavy sleeper."

"He didn't even stir when we made our way down the mountain," Aang supplied to support the fact even though there wasn't really a need. "And it was a rocky downward climb."

Sokka groaned and went forward when they started walking again. "My back's killing me already." He complained loudly.

Toph punched him in the small of the back making him writhe in pain but he still maintained the stretcher; Sasuke's wrath was more frightening than Toph's. "Shut up! You've only just got the stretcher. Be a man!" Sokka grumbled but continued to move onward.

"How can he sleep like that? I mean, he can sleep in any situation?" Ty Lee asked in awe as she observed Sasuke's peaceful expression. Suki and the rest smirked at the young acrobat's excuse for staring at the raven-haired teen but didn't put that into the light. They had more important matters to discuss first; business comes first then the teasing.

"Sokka, how long ago was it that you and the rest handled the patrol?" Zuko asked.

"About half an hour ago." Sokka's answer was so short and to the point that the group looked over at him…to see him sweating profusely and staggering at what seemed to him to be the weight of the world. Taking pity on him, Suki took one part of the stretcher Sasuke was sleeping on to relieve her boyfriend's pain.

"You alright there, Sokka?" Zuko asked, trying to keep his face stoic to the tribesman's exhaustion. "Your sweating like you ran a mile or something." The boy threw him a glare and returned to concentrating on moving his feet.

Back to the problem at hand. "Still half an hour? That's too long. The enemy probably already knows what's going on." Katara said.

"No, they don't." Suki said, grinning. "They think we're the border patrol. We wrote a false report and sent it to the base. We even stole the enemy's clothes so we could better disguise ourselves but we didn't meet any patrols so we left it behind. It was all Sokka's plan."

"Is the Fire-benders you dealt with dead?" Toph asked, bluntly as always.

"No, we didn't kill them. We're not that ruthless. We just immobilized them—well Ty Lee immobilized them actually, we just drew their attention."

"SHH," Iroh who had been silent all this time stopped and put a finger to his lips, "We're almost there, keep your voices down."

The rest of the hike was in silence as the group tensed at every sound and stood alert at every raising of the hairs on the backs of their necks; Sasuke slept soundlessly, a ghost of a sly smirk flitting through his features when the group wasn't looking though Iroh could've sworn he saw it.

"Ugh!" Suddenly, Iroh let out a grunt of what seemed to be pain, since the side of his garments had a blossoming blotch of red that steadily grew. He collapsed, falling to his knees. The group panicked and ran around him surrounding the old man to see what was wrong; though Sokka, Suki, and Aang still kept steady hold of the stretcher, not wanting Sasuke to wake up and kill them.

"Uncle!" Zuko shouted with concern plastered on his features. "What's going on? Why are you bleeding?"

"This is it, Zuko. This was the time I chose to…FOOL YOU ALL! It was just a flask of red wine I had stashed in my pocket!" Iroh let out a raucous laugh at the group's concern while the GAang stared at him each with an eye twitching, frustrated that seemingly none of them could take this invasion seriously. Zuko face palmed with the rest at the old man's trick; he had them all worried, too. _I should've known that Uncle would try something like this._

"And you were the one who said to keep our voices down, you hypocrite." Katara said as a vein throbbed in her head. First, Sasuke decides not to join them. Then, he does meet up with them. Then, he won't wake up and finally this. It was almost too much; everyone's patience was really waning with the two of them fooling around. Well she wouldn't really call Sasuke fooling around but he didn't care about the invasion or who they were up against which was just as bad. The Uchiha's ego was so overly inflated that anyone's patience was wear thin unless they were old…like Iroh. Though the Uchiha did have a right to be so confident; he hadn't taken the group seriously when they had sparred and he still managed to get them on their knees without so much as a sweat. If he can handle all of them then what's a little rogue army to him?

"That's enough clowning for today." Suki said, removing her palm from her face. "We need to get serious. This is life and death, I hope you all realized." She looked at Iroh reproachfully. "And shouldn't you be setting an example for all of us…?"

The old man shrugged while cleaning up the red stain on his side. "I just thought of that trick and I wanted to show you all before I forgot."

"Let's pick up the pace and hurry to the lair." Aang said impatiently as he shifted his weight and the weight of the stretcher. "I'm exhausted as it is. If I have to carry Sasuke any longer, I won't be able to run from any fire balls, much less fend for myself."

"That's why there is something like adrenaline, my friend.' Iroh pointed out. "You can do a lot of things you thought you couldn't do when you're under pressure of death or something like that."

…

"Gah! I can't fight while carrying this guy around! And there are fire benders everywhere. We're gonna die if we don't do something." Aang yelled as he, Sokka, and Suki ran around dodging fire balls.

They had invaded the base only to find that the rogues were prepared for an assault; and the worst of all luck was that they were surrounded by masses of benders that went rogue from every Nation, not to mention Sasuke was still asleep despite the deafening blasts here and there as Iroh, Zuko, and the others who were able to fight fought.

Sokka laid down the stretcher and sighed as he rolled his back, Aang looked at boy in horror. "What are you doing? He'll kill you if he wakes up!" but the Avatar copied Sokka as well, Suki following after him, letting the hooded swordsman to sleep on his side on firm ground.

Suddenly a gargantuan blast of fire balls headed their way. Aang grabbed Sokka and Suki and used his air bending to get away. When they were at a safe distance, only then did the monk realize he had left Sasuke.

But the huge volley of fire seemed to hit a barrier when it reached Sasuke and a giant skeleton of a warrior could almost be seen through the flames and carnage. Armor and weapons slowly appeared on it as its image grew more defined, making fire benders all around panic and run for cover. Its sword swept around and laid to waste all the shelters and rogues around it.

**Susano'o!**

Then just as suddenly as the apparition of the monstrous giant had appeared, the image faded, to reveal Sasuke unharmed and still seemingly sound 'asleep'. The group of rogues and friends stared at the cloaked man with wide eyes, unaware of the comedic displays of expressions they were showing.

"What is the reason you have disturbed my sleep…?" Sasuke asked dangerously, not even bothering to turn around to face them. "If I don't see it as a rational one then you will all die." To emphasize the point, a couple more shelters collapsed and burst into flames all around him.

"That's simple." Someone replied evenly to the Uchiha's inquiry. "We've decided to kill you. You're too much of a threat for us to let you live." Azula stepped to the front of the ranks and calmly waited for the swordsman's reply with her hands behind her back as if mocking him.

_That's the wrong thing to do, sister. For once I feel sorry for you._ Zuko thought.

There was a humongous explosion and the ground was blasted with a huge crater. Azula and the front ranks got up to their feet from the bottom of the wide depression, disheveled and shocked at the display of power that they could never possibly match. Sasuke stood above them, at the edge of the crater, staring down condescendingly. The very situation sent a jolt of Déjà vu within him as he recalled Sakura and Naruto's first encounter with him after three years.

"That's not a plausible reason," Sasuke said and all of a sudden he was behind Azula, the rogue benders all around her collapsed, headless. "Because you are far too incompetent for me to even let you dodge around for sport." He kicked her ferociously sending her flying to the back ranks of rogues.

As Azula flew through the air all of a sudden she felt someone hit a nerve that paralyzed her. Sasuke appeared under her as the two flew through the air.

**Shadow of the Leaf!**

**Barrage of Lions!**

Sasuke twisted and slammed his heel into the enemy's gut, making Azula cough up blood at the ferocity of the attack. Sasuke did a front flip then slammed his heel into throat and sent her hurtling down to earth with such force that it caused a miniature crater.

Sasuke landed perfectly and turned to the group and walked toward them. "Can't you even properly carry me off a mountain? I had trouble not to criticize you all for such clumsiness." He turned to Sokka. "And you need to work on your arms more; I could feel the stretcher dip ever so slightly on the part you were holding. Add the fact that you were complaining all the way to the base, I'd have to agree with Toph: be a man and suck it up."

Iroh chuckled. So the Uchiha was awake the whole time after all, just as he thought. It seemed that the rest were just figuring it out; Sasuke waited to let that fact sink in with a bored expression on his face as always.

"Wait! Wait a minute!" Sokka yelled, eyeballs nearly popping out of his eye sockets. "You were awake all this time…?" the group looked disgruntled at that; they had just practically been Sasuke's slaves for the whole journey to the enemy's lair. He had played them as thoroughly as he had done before. "Why you…"

The group glared at the oblivious Uchiha as he sat there watching the fire benders rally together. Out of all the most irritating things Sasuke has said or done, this surpassed every one of them. Making them believe he wasn't coming to help was already angering enough but to let them carry him around even at the base where they were bombarded with attacks…

"What was that all about?" Aang asked, a vein throbbing, pulsing violently on his forehead. "You made us carry you when you were awake?"

"Yeah! My back's killing me from your weight!" Zuko and Sokka said in unison.

"You all can't seem to conduct a stealth mission properly. You talk nonstop, how am I supposed to rest…?" Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. "And what's more, you didn't kill the border patrol. All of you step back, you can't handle these wanna-be villains. Go have a picnic or something while I play with my food. It'll be over quick." He drew his sword and charged it with electricity.

**Chidori Blade!**

A blade of lightning extended from the tip of Sasuke's sword and shot at the rogue fire benders in a streak of light. The blade of lightning cut the every last one of them, within its reach, to shreds. Sasuke turned to them and gestured at the bloody mess. "That it is how it's done; when you are at war, you spare none of your enemies. Show mercy and it can get you killed." Sasuke said, after taking care of the enemy surrounding him. "You all can take care of the rest. Besides you need the training."

"Hey! You still haven't answered us yet." Sokka yelled, waving his sword angrily. "What was that all about?"

"Enough of that," Suki called over to the rest. "We'll settle that later. Let's take out as many rogues as we can and then retreat."

Sasuke sat there and watched. He'd done his part; now it's the others turn. He lent a hand here and there as he surveyed the place-turned-into-a-battlefield. Then a man appeared, flying by using the fire on his feet as rockets. Aang sucked in a breath. "Ozai…"

_So this was the main villain_, Sasuke mused. _How boring…_ he stood up as he saw the GAang get pummeled around by the long haired man. All of a sudden he was behind the former Fire Lord. "Getting too cocky are we?" he swung his sword at the man but his sword hand was caught by the girl he had previously thought he defeated. "You're still alive…" the Uchiha noted. "Some endurance and you even blocked my blow the correct way." He streamed Chidori through his entire body and shocked the girl with what seemed like thousand of volts judging by her loud screams. Out of the corner of his eye, the former Akatsuki saw a giant ball of flames flying his way; he dodged and looked to see that it had been that man Ozai who threw the attack. "Too slow." He summoned a variety of weapons from his seals and threw them at the man. The strings wrapped around him and bound Ozai to a tree. "There, now the foot soldiers—"

He was cut off midsentence when a clay bird flew past him and exploded. Out of instinct, the Uchiha leaped backwards, flipping in the air to land on the one of the tree tops. "That bird looked familiar…" he trailed off when he turned to see several cloaked figures standing on branches a distance off. "What's going on…?"

He stared at the hooded people with his head cocked to the side, half bored and half interested. One of them swept their hood back to reveal white hair tied in a pony tail and snake-like eyes. "Kabuto, huh…?"

Sasuke glanced at the sky, when a shadow fell over him, to see Deidara standing atop a giant clay bird, very much alive even though he had self-destructed. "I've been waiting for a rematch, Sasuke." The Uchiha's eyes widened a fraction before narrowing again.

"Fine, I'm game for some amusement. I don't know how you all got into this dimension but that doesn't matter, does it…? It's irrelevant since I'm talking to dead meat." He smirked at his own pun before using Susano'o to crush the explosive Akatsuki. "One down, several more to go that I don't even care to count." The blood of the Akatsuki's explosion artist rained down on the trees below. Sasuke looked over at the other cloaked figures and brought forth Susano'o. "Things have gotten interesting once again. I could do with a little challenge. Now let's begin."

…

**So there! Was it good or bad? I wanna hear your thoughts and criticisms! Plz! I also want to know if you want to read each and every fight or should I just stay on Sasuke's fight…? It all depends on your opinions! Just saying~! Review plz!**


	12. Be Careful What You Wish For

**Chapter whatever is up! I had to go through Hell and back to finish this since I was really busy so please review and tell how it was. Anyway read on!**

…

The blood rained down, separating the two opposite sides, and the tree tops swayed as the aggressive wind blew through their leaves. Then the red droplets of blood stopped and all Hell broke loose.

Sasuke crouched into a ready position like a cat ready to pounce on its prey. From his wrist seals, he summoned twin demon shurikens and threw them at the hooded figures that dispersed, leaping aside to let the shurikens whizz harmlessly past them.

**Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!**

The third and fourth windmill blades seemed to suddenly materialize from out of thin air underneath the first and second. Then the fifth and sixth blades separated from the third and fourth. The six giant throwing stars swerved around to home in on their targets once again.

Kabuto's eyes narrowed as the shurikens seemingly followed him and his undead around. Glancing over at Sasuke he saw the reason. _He used chakra threads to direct the movements of the shuriken?_

Sasuke smirked as he threw a letter bomb in front of one of them, detonating it swiftly; the hood fell from the figure, revealing red hair, as he flipped backward to land a few yards back. The Uchiha frowned at that. It was Sasori, one of the Akatsuki listed in Orochimaru's bingo book.

_Another supposedly dead Akatsuki found alive?_ Sasuke pondered this but quickly crossed that out of his mind. _No, this is Kabuto's doing; most definitely, by absorbing Orochimaru's genes, he was able to perfect the resurrection jutsu. _

"In that case," Sasuke began. "I'm in deeper waters than I thought." He sent his giant shurikens flying around him then sent it Sasori's way.

The puppet master quickly back flipped again, spinning and flipping in the air, summoning hundreds of puppets as he landed far from where Sasuke's throwing stars could reach. The red cloaked puppets quickly surrounded the Uchiha and drew their many assortments of weapons.

Directing his chakra-string-attached-shurikens with one hand and drawing his Kusanagi blade with the other, Sasuke leaped into the air, using his Lightning affinity to stay aloft as he streaked toward his prey like a hawk. He sent the shurikens whirling around him like a miniature tornado of blades, whizzing about and slicing any puppet that came too close into pieces.

His flight was intercepted by Kakuzu as Hidan's old partner appeared in front of Sasuke, simply crackling with suppressed lightning. Sasuke blocked the lightning attack by streaming Chidori through his entire body, eyes widened in shock at the man's strength. He dived downward in a flash of light, having almost been hit by a wind technique from the man with four hearts. Swerving again to dodge a water and fire style attack that came at him from either side, Sasuke studied the man's movements with his Sharingan.

_Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning; it seems that everyone is able to control all the elements nowadays._ Sasuke dodged another five element assault before bringing forth the ultimate defense.

**Susano'o!**

With his ocular powers of the eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke brought the giant protection around him and used the fist of his Susano'o to punch Kakuzu, sending the man flying backward.

Throwing his blade up into the air, Sasuke quickly summoned a falcon and crouched on its back as it soared upward, closer to the sun and away from the danger from below. Then it dived downward and Sasuke brought his shurikens whirring around him once more, catching his Kusanagi blade from the air deftly with his right hand as he streaked downward in a blur. The bird swooped from the dive and soared past Kakuzu as Sasuke impaled him in the chest with his Chidori sword.

"That won't kill me." Kakuzu growled. "I have four hearts. When one of them fails, I just transplant." His black tendrils writhed underneath his skin and one of the masks on his back shattered.

Sasuke looked down on the freak, also taking in Kabuto, Sasori, and the other three hooded figures to the right. "Is that so? Then I'll just kill you over and over again until you have no more hearts to replace!" he flashed behind the Akatsuki, leaving his falcon in the sky. "Two hearts down, two more to go."

The falcon screeched and dived again to let Sasuke jump on its back again and the Uchiha removed his blade from the man. There was a blast from Sasuke's left and a giant wolfhound appeared from the huge puff of smoke, roaring as it sent shockwaves through the air that blew the raven-haired swordsman and his bird back toward the revived Kakuzu who was preparing yet another five element attack.

Quickly regaining balance, Sasuke's falcon readjusted its wings and flew diagonally past the giant beast to let Sasuke behead it with his Kusanagi blade.

_This is almost too much for me_, Sasuke thought, and then he smirked again. It's '_almost' too much but not quite._

The giant falcon suddenly swerved violently to dodge a colossal paw that swiped at the area where Sasuke had been before, leaving a scratch on the Uchiha's cheek from the slicing wind of the beast's terrifying fast movements.

Sasuke whipped around to see that the big wolfhound he had just decapitated was still alive and now bore two heads that snarled and snapped at him angrily. His eyes widened a fraction. "What—?" he didn't finish his sentence because right then his Susano'o vanished. He stared down at the man atop one of the heads of the dogs to see another red-headed Akatsuki absorbing his total defense.

_An absorption technique…?_ Sasuke's falcon dodged here and there as he directed it toward the man. Looking more closely, he could make out the man's eyes. _The Rinnegan…? The possessor of that ocular power is said to have godlike powers that can either pave the way for total destruction or world peace. He must be Nagato, the figure head leader of Akatsuki. How troublesome…_

Sasuke sighed. "It seems I really have my hands full." Gritting his teeth grimly, he swung his Chidori sword at the Rinnegan wielder, meaning to slice the man clean in half but it shifted slightly as if brushing against an invisible barrier. "What?" _Does he control the weight of objects or maybe he has a total defense…?_ Sasuke swung his shurikens at him, one of them grazing his cheek. _No, that's not it then. Is it gravity? If it is gravitational push and pull then there must be some kind of draw back. So maybe a 3-5 second cool-down…?_

"It doesn't matter what you can do." Sasuke muttered. "I've figured out your weakness so I should be able to kill you easily." swinging his shurikens toward the man, Sasuke streamed ration through it to increase its cutting edge. Like the first attack, it was blocked. Leaping from the falcon's back Sasuke swung his sword down upon the Rinnegan ninja's head. Only to be blocked by Kakuzu who used his lightning style technique to block the blade.

Sasuke turned his attention on the-hearted man once again, frustrated at being intercepted. Battering against Hidan's partner's lightning technique again and again, the Uchiha was finally able to cut him as the mutant's technique weakened with each blow. Sasuke leapt back to avoid yet another five element assault and watched as Kakuzu sowed his wound up with those black tendrils of his.

**Chidori Stream!**

Sasuke slammed his palms on the ground sending electricity streaking through the ground toward Kakuzu who leapt up to dodge the attack. Sasuke flashed in front of him and impaled the freak again. "Now you have only one heart left."

Flipping backward, Sasuke landed on his bird again, swinging his shurikens at Kabuto and the others to keep them busy. His falcon zoomed about as he and his bird attacked the multiplying dogs.

**Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!**

More shurikens separated from the six blades until there was a dozen or so throwing stars that sliced anything in its path as Sasuke skillfully directed them at the Akatsuki and Kabuto. Three of the blades cut Kakuzu into fourths but the Akatsuki member just sowed himself back with his writhing black tendrils again. The other nine took out all of Sasori's puppets as Sasuke streamed electricity through them like before, cutting through the blades the puppets used to block and slicing them to pieces.

Sasori summoned the Third Kazekage from another scroll. Sasuke let out a breath, sighing with frustration. "How many puppets does this guy have stocked up?" he glanced sideways to where the rest of the GAang fought; he saw Aang taking out a whole army of Rogues and the others fighting alongside him. Ozai and Azula seemed to have retreated in the back of the ranks of benders, still recovering from their defeat at Sasuke's hands.

"You shouldn't let your mind wander at a time like this, hmmm," Deidara's voice jolted the Uchiha from his observation. Sasuke looked to his left to see the somehow-resurrected-explosive artist flying alongside him.

Sasuke's eyes widened before narrowing. _What? I killed him twice and the man still isn't dead?_ Looking over his shoulder, he saw an empty coffin lying ajar and understood. _Hmph, Kabuto must have revived the explosive maniac when I was busy fighting the others._

"Like I said, you should be worrying more about yourself than about others right now." and with that, Deidara sent a flock of clay birds his way and leapt from his giant bird to summon another, detonating the birds as he soared above Sasuke.

Lightning lanced around him like a hurricane as Sasuke nullified the attack and leapt off his falcon as it vanished in a puff of smoke at a multi-element attack. As he soared into the air, he focused his chakra on his Chidori Sword, extending it to its fullest length. Landing on one of the multiplying giant dogs, he sliced it in half but it separated into two and then four beasts that came at him from all sides. Then the chakra-stringed shurikens came streaking in front and all around, slicing the multiplying summoned beasts again and again. But again the dogs split until there was 16 of them that fused together to make a many-headed beast before separating again; the entire thing was rather dizzying to watch, almost like a dance that put the victim in to a trance-like state of mind.

Sasuke bit his lip until it bled and slammed his palm on the ground, summoning his bird which he leapt onto. Then, throwing the shurikens at the dogs, Sasuke aimed for the maws of the beasts; once inside the shurikens exploded, the shrapnel tearing the dogs apart from within and this time it didn't split. A ghost of a smirk crossed the Uchiha's features at his accomplishment.

Now he was free to use his other hand, which had been previously directing the shurikens, Sasuke summoned another sword and charged it with Chidori.

**Twin Chidori Blades!**

The two swords laced with Raiton seemed to cut the very clouds asunder as Sasuke combined them into a double-sided, staff-like blade; they spun furiously, the electricity lancing off here and there striking the unfortunate objects that happened to be within its reach. Spinning it above his head effortlessly with one hand, he prepared to throw it at his foe, blasts of thunder boomed and storm clouds gathered into a swirling, whirlwind, making the dark clouds swirl into a funnel as the eye of the typhoon stared down below at Sasuke; the whole display of power put awe into the hearts of the enemy and the onlookers (namely the GAng and Rogues), It made the Avatar's power seem so insignificant, so infinitesimal: it was as if the Uchiha were Susano'o himself, the God of the Storms and Seas, come to end this evil once in for all with an epic finishing blow.

Sasuke smirked as the rain let loose from the skies; the set-up was just like last time when he fought his brother Itachi: he had used the fire-style techniques to bring about the storm clouds then with his lightning technique he channeled the power of the storm to strengthen his own attack. He leapt toward his enemy and cut Sasori in half and Deidara's birds to shreds. But with all that effort it was for naught; the puppet master reassembled himself while the explosive maniac merely created another clay bird to fly on.

"Fine then, if you all won't stay dead when I cut you to shreds…" Sasuke said coldly. "Then I'll incinerate you and blow you to smithereens down to last the molecular level."

He split his Chidori swords once more and extended them to the sky as far as they could stretch. Lightning from the storm lanced across the stormy skies and connected with the blades making their reach even longer. Then the former Team Hawk leader widened the lightning's width that surrounded his Kusanagi swords and swung them at Sasori again. This time the attack turned Sasori into dust and proceeded to slam into Kakuzu who was just able to block the fatal blow with a lightning jutsu of his own.

"That technique was good but not good enough to finish me." The black tendril Akatsuki member growled. Just as he finished he was slammed from behind with a giant fire ball from Aang. Sasuke looked over to see his recent acquaintances running over toward his and the undead's battlefield.

"Hey, blue-arrow boy, don't fight someone else's battle." Sasuke called over. "Stand back, this is my fight." Aang skidded to a halt, eye twitching.

"'Blue-arrow boy'? Where did that nickname come from?" the rest of the GAng just smiled at the newcomer's antics.

Sasuke looked over back to the remaining enemies. "Let's see, how many of you are left…?" there was a movement from his peripheral vision and he dodged from Kakuzu's Multiple Element Attack just in time. "Well, after all that, you live." Sasuke noted. "But I'm guessing the only reason for that is because of those black tendrils and those hearts of the worthy adversaries you've defeated. This means you probably had 4 or 5 to begin with and now you only have one." The Uchiha sighed. "It would be meaningless to kill you since Kabuto can just bring you back so I'm gonna seal you away into the land of eternal nightmare for all eternity…sounds wonderful doesn't it…?"

With that being said the Uchiha flashed behind the man and stabbed him one last time; then, bringing forth the Totsuka blade he had inherited from Itachi, Sasuke sealed Kakuzu away. "And it's another one down for the count."

Sasuke straightened up then flinched as a blade pierced his chest from behind, glancing back, he saw Sasori drawing back the bloody blade from him. "You used substitution, huh? So that means that you replaced your flesh cartridge from the other puppet to one of your summoned ones. Pretty good." Sasuke's image faded to nothingness and Sasori's eyes widened. _An illusion…?_

Sasuke appeared from above on his falcon and surveyed the remaining foes. "So if I wipe out your entire flock of dummies then you can't replace yourself with them, right? Because I just stole your summoning scrolls." The Uchiha flung the stolen scrolls in the air and burnt them with a plume of flames. Then he swung his Chidori blades at the summoned puppets like whips as the lightning streaked through and incinerated dozens with a single swipe.

"It seems to me that the puppet substitution was a last ditch effort to kill me." Sasuke commented casually. "So you've played your trump cards and now you've got nothing." He finished lazily as he wiped out the last of the puppets. "It's time to close the curtain on you." with that Sasuke crouched and took a breath then blew a fiery tempest that obliterated the Master of Puppets and the surrounding plant life along with it. "I finally took him out for good but since he's a puppet I couldn't seal him so if Kabuto's gonna bring him back then he'll have to resurrect the human form."

Sasuke looked over at Orochimaru's former assistant with his Sharingan activated. After observing the man's chakra levels, Sasuke turned his head to the Rinnegan user dismissively. _It seems Kabuto's exhausted himself. He barely has enough chakra to stand on water. So he won't be a problem. Now let's move on to the Rinnegan user._

Just as Sasuke and Nagato made eye contact, the Rinnegan Shinobi summoned a horde of giant rhinos that went rampaging toward him. The last living Uchiha stared grimly at the scene before him; he was almost getting nowhere with this; he had asked for a tough opponent and now he got one. And this time he might even have bitten off more than he could chew.

He sent giant fists of flames are after another at the beasts but the flames were useless against the rhinos' rough hide.

**Amaterasu!**

The black tendrils of flames roared and come toward the summoned beasts like a living animal. But it was met with a retaliatory blast of black flames and the two burned into nothingness. From the smoke, Itachi appeared with his eyes still intact even though Sasuke had transplanted them.

"It' been awhile …brother," Itachi remarked, staring intently back at Sasuke who hovered in the sky on his falcon. "I see you've gotten stronger."

Sasuke slowly smiled a little tiredly. "Yeah, I have gotten stronger. I'm sorry but I have to destroy you. I have to stop Kabuto."

The clouds began to gather due to the heat and flames and smoke of all the fire attacks and Amaterasu. The man fell and the regular flames died down while Sasuke put out Amaterasu. A flash of lightning streaked the sky as the little brother of Itachi faced his foes.

Slowly Sasuke raised a hand, as if to touch the stormy clouds, and charged it with Chidori. The arcs of lightning intensified as the rain strengthened it.

Deidara flew above Itachi with Kabuto, Kakuzu, Nagato, and the last cloaked figure standing off to the side. The group stood, staring as the lightning in Sasuke's palm expanded to cover almost the entire vicinity. Kakuzu brought out his own lightning technique to counter. "Let's see which one the lightning favors most!" Kakuzu snarled.

Sasuke looked to the heavens as if for reassurance from the gods. Lightning won't let me down…because lightning is my companion." And he brought his hand down, directing the surge of electricity toward his intended targets. "I said once before and I'll say it again: Be gone with the thunder clap!"

**Raikirin!**

A dragon of light and electricity came diving down and its maw opened wide to consume everything. The rain stopped and the clouds cleared for the rays of the sun. The smoke cleared and Itachi stood with his Susano'o protecting him. "That was a powerful attack, brother…even more powerful than the last time you used it. But it still shouldn't take me down."

To Itachi's side and above, Deidara and Kakuzu was nothing but a pile of dust. However, Kabuto unharmed, having summoned the giant snake Manda to protect himself.

"Tch!" Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"I have to agree with your brother on that one, Sasuke." Kabuto said lazily then coughed out blood violently. "That was most certainly a powerful attack." A hand came out of the man's mouth and Kabuto shed himself, healing his wounds through Orochimaru's replacement technique. "But even though you took out 3 of my pawns, you still have to fight your brother, Nagato, me, and him." Kabuto gestured at each one he addressed and emphasized the last member who was still hidden behind the hood as if he were addressing a legend. _Who is that?_ Sasuke wondered. _Tch! I can't get distracted, I have to defeat Kabuto!_

Sasuke smirked. "Why are you counting yourself? You hardly have any chakra left and besides even if you had full chakra, you've never been much of an opponent to me. You know that."

**Susano'o!**

The chakra of his ocular eye power swirled around Sasuke in a fiery tempest. "Now I'm really gonna finish this!"

Sasuke brought forth another form of Susano'o; it was almost the same as before except that it remained in its skeletal-structure-without-flesh and its 4 arms each bore a sword. Armor began to cover portions of the giant infernal monster and bat-like wings sprouted from its back; its wingspan outstretched throughout the battlefield covering it in darkness. The powerful storm reached its climax. It was like staring at the God of Death had risen to finish things off himself.

"Now, let's finish this."

Itachi's eyes widened. "This power…!"

Sasuke's Susano'o battered against Itachi's as the two brothers fought in a clash of the titans. "It's all over…!" and with a final smite from all 4 blades of the younger brother's Susano'o, Itachi's giant warrior vanished and Itachi collapsed to the ground, splattered into a bloody mess by Sasuke's Death God.

Kabuto watched with a faint of trepidation crossing his conscience but he shook the feeling off, pushing it to the back of his mind.

His God of Death Susano'o's 4 blades came smashing down once more on the enemy again and again but when the dust settled, the 3 were gone.

Sasuke frowned. "Damn, they got away."

He collapsed to the ground, panting. "Damn…I used too much chakra." With some difficulty, the Uchiha managed to get unsteadily back up on his feet.

Sasuke walked toward the place he last saw the GAng and as journeyed there with one small step at a time, he took out the bells were slightly crushed, probably from when he collapsed. Putting them back in his pocket, Sasuke sighed. He hated to admit it to himself but he was starting to miss his old friends: Team7 of Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura; the other teams; then Team Hawk of Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo. He wanted to see them again. He wished that one day, he would finally return to Konoha and his old friends.

Sasuke turned his gaze to the skies, watching the sun slowly set below the tree tops as he walked through the now deserted glade to the edge of the forest where the GAng waited. Out of the corner of his eye, the Uchiha caught sight of a shooting star streaking across the heavens, and he smirked. Maybe, just maybe, his wish will come true…

...

**I know. It was cheesy but it was the best way I could think up being rushed and all. The last two pages, I didn't have time to edit or look over so feel free to correct me if you so wish. Though please no flames. If you don't like something then ask me and I'll take it out…maybe. Unless that part is important. Oh and review please! Anyway, until next time. See ya!**


	13. Developing Feelings

**I'm really sorry for not updating sooner but I was really busy. This year has really packed a punch. Anyway, sorry and I hope that you all can forgive me. Oh! And I made this chapter a little longer (6000+) just as compensation so read on and review afterwards!**

…

CHAPTER XIII

Sasuke woke alert and unfazed by the difference of his surroundings. Keeping the expression on his face impassive and expressionless, he looked around him.

The distinct voices of the rest of the gang and the crackling fire reaching his ears as he thought over all the events that had occurred before falling unconscious. The smell of the pleasant aroma of cooked food filled his nostrils as he took a whiff. And the stalagmites and stalactites above and around him greeted his sight as he lay there, unmoving.

Sitting up, he found that his stinging wounds and other assortment of injury he had sustained had been dressed and bandaged carefully. He also found a neatly folded pile of spare clothes along with his Uchiha clan shirt and Akatsuki cloak placed beside his make-shift bed, his sword lay on top, cleaned and sharpened when Sasuke inspected the blade.

The group fell silent upon realizing that the Uchiha was awake. They stared with a mixture of uncertainty, apprehension, and relief at the raven-haired swordsman, which confused him. Observing each member's faces, Sasuke took note that they seemed to be worried about him for some reason as if they had expected him to die.

_I don't know if I should fear insulted or touched by their cause for concern._ He thought, musing over this but not entirely annoyed. It was kind of nice to have someone look after you after so long on your own.

There was an awkward silence that was filled with only the melody of Iroh's old war song and the roaring flames of the camp fire and the boiling of water in the pot being held over the flames.

Sasuke set there awhile, cracking his neck and stretching, flexing and testing every muscle and joint. After a few minutes, he was satisfied and got dressed with his back to the group.

The majority of the group turned their attention back to their food and the camp fire, staring at the sparks and flames glumly. The days when Sasuke was out cold hadn't gone as expected and their encounters with the enemy adversaries were unsettling and the images seemed to haunt them all.

Ty Lee found it hard to concentrate on her meal, her eyes trailing back to Sasuke as he strapped his sword to his waist and checked his wrists to make sure the weapon seals were still there. All the while the group remained eerily silent, so silent that it would've seemed that graves spoke louder, the acrobat guessed that it was probably because the absence of their usual comedian Sokka being out to check the perimeter of their hide-out or because Iroh was too busy playing his instrument and not doing anything else or maybe because of the events that had happened during the Uchiha's comatose sleep.

Sasuke tilted his head to the side as he slipped into his cloak, looking over his shoulder at the Fire Nation girl as if sensing her attention, his eyes lazily searching her face like he could see right through her and read what she was feeling as clearly as a book. Ty Lee flushed averting her gaze for a moment before returning them, thankful that it was dark.

The swordsman observed the acrobat for a brief moment then after strapping his sword to his side grabbed his pack and moved to join the others, sitting between Iroh and Ty Lee. Unpacking his rations, he took out a pack of ramen and, after getting everything ready, began to make his meal. Iroh set down his horn instrument and clapped his hands. "Well, Sasuke. I see you've recovered. Maybe together, we can cheer the others up." He slung an arm around Sasuke and looked over at the gang's sullen faces. Sasuke glanced sideways at the old man, amused.

"I'm no comedian, Iroh." He rested his chin on the palm of his left hand as he continued to prepare his meal, using the water in the pot to boil his ramen. "Anyway, who bandaged me up?"

Ty Lee flushed but raised her hand as if she were still in Fire Nation School. "Since everyone else was scared of you, I did." She looked ready to break down at that point but Sasuke wasn't trying to terrorize anyone anyway.

He sighed. "Thanks." She smiled and he added. "But next time, let me handle it. I hate being in debt."

The acrobat smiled and turned back to her meal. Looking over at Suki, she found her smirking slightly but it soon faded after awhile, the atmosphere returning back to its normal blue aura.

Iroh sighed. "C'mon, you young people need to cheer up. Sasuke has just woken up and seems to be recovered. Why not give him a good welcome back." He brightened. "I know! Why don't we play a game of Pai Shou and drink Jasmine tea as a toast?" he began rummaging in his bags for the items.

Zuko and Toph grunted, Aang sighed tiredly, frustrated, while the others merely sat there eating in silence, sulking.

Sasuke spoke up, breaking up the silence, "So how long was I out?"

Ty Lee answered, "About a week or so, give or take. I'm not sure. We haven't really kept track of time…" she shifted uncomfortably as Sasuke watched. "Anyway, I'm glad that you finally woke up. The aura around here is so blue and stressful." She ended in a failed attempt to sound cheery.

_So even the bubbliest of us is put down…_ Sasuke contemplated. He looked to the pot cooking his ramen and found it was ready to eat. "Man, you all look more like whipped puppies by the minute. Who beat you up?"

Aang finished his meal and stomped away, surprising everyone. Katara went after him soon followed by Toph and Suki, leaving Ty Lee, Iroh, Zuko, and Sasuke sitting by the fire. Sasuke shrugged at their reactions and continued to eat. Iroh sighed, exasperatedly, "You should know that while you were out, we decided the best way to take control of this war was to strike as soon as we can…" Sasuke looked up, interested. The old geezer continued, "But…the plan didn't go as well as we thought it would. It seems that—"

"The Avatars have been brought back to life." Zuko finished, interrupting his uncle's recounts. "We don't know how but that doesn't matter. The Avatars of the past are all alive again and we were outnumbered. The people you killed were there to, without so much as a scar or a scratch. I never believed in those stories of people coming back to life but this proves it. We're dealing with something a little over our heads."

Sasuke cursed inwardly as Iroh and Zuko filled him in on the details; it seemed like Kabuto made his move as early as he could, taking advantage of the former leader of Team Hawk's one-week coma. _This is going to be more bothersome than I thought… _Sasuke thought, gazing at the exit of the cave. _If only we had more people, more reinforcements._

Ty Lee watched his expression change from calm to something akin to annoyance and frustration. She decided to speak up now, "Hey, Sasuke, don't worry. We sent for more reinforcements a day ago. They should be here any moment."

Sasuke shook his head. "No, I'm not worried about that. It's just more trouble than I thought." He finished and set his bowl down, thinking over something. "The person we're up against was once one of the people I had the misfortune to meet. His name is Kabuto. He was an assistant of Orochimaru, a rogue who was banished because of his illegal experimentations with human subjects. I killed him and I think his former assistant wants to repay me, so to speak."

Ty Lee looked over at the raven-haired teen with wide eyes, shocked at how calm he was with talking about the dire situation. It was as if he was fearless to even the wrath of the gods, oblivious to terror and impervious to despair. Then again it was surprising to her how she hadn't caught on to his attitude, he had always seemed that way, she supposed. And that made her admire him even more than ever…

"This…Kabuto…" Iroh commented. "He's the one behind this raising of the dead thing. He's the one behind the undead army that's marching around the world?" Sasuke frowned at another unexpected newsflash but nodded.

"Yes, and it seems that he's made his move and is trying to get my attention. His plans are more ambitious than I thought which means we'll have to counterattack soon." He made to stand up but Ty Lee grabbed his sleeve.

"But how are we going to fight someone like him…? He's on a totally different level than us. The undead army of Avatars is enough to take us all out and if he can control them then he must be way more powerful than any of us."

Sasuke smirked. "He's no match against me. He's only a shadow of his former master and I was able to kill him with little to no difficulty. He's just a kid trying to imitate someone he could never compete with. His powers are all from his experimentations with Orochimaru's genes. By transplanting the DNA he was able to acquire more power. But he can't really control it as well. As for being able to control the Avatars, I don't know a lot about the resurrection technique but what I do know is he uses the seals as other limiting techniques to bind their loyalties." He stood and walked to the exit of the cave, gesturing for them to follow. "And as for how you will stand against the Avatars undead…I'll explain with the rest present."

Soon enough they were all gathered outside their hide-out. Sasuke took in the surroundings for the first time, slightly awed by the structures and style of the hide-out; of course he didn't show it.

The place was a vast expanse of stone temples, many in ruins. It was created so that the world at least this part of the world seemed to be flipped upside down. It was an interesting concept, with the world being reversed and everything being backward. Pagodas and other ancient structures built upside down from the ceiling of the chasm that opened up below made the place seem almost from a different planet, alien to Earth.

"Where are we anyway?" he stared at the ruined water fountain and the debris of stone and smashed pillars. "It looks like this place was hit by a typhoon or something.'

"This is the air benders temples and dwelling places." Aang supplied. "This was one of our camps when we were up against the Fire Nation and also at the time, it was where Zuko joined up with us."

"And the place is half-ruined because of combustion man. This guy that was half robot and all was trying to kill us and he found us here. We managed to get rid of him though so no worries."

The others had looks of reminiscence as they took in their surroundings as if remembering the days when things were much simpler than now. Evidently, the air temples held some importance to them. It was one of those settings they couldn't forget.

Sasuke looked over the huge area and could almost imagine the air benders flying from one building to another and living here in peace until they met their deaths in some war. He stared around then with a swipe of his sword, he cleared parts of the area, reducing the smashed stones to dust and the others were sent through the air into the waters below.

"Okay, let's get this straight." He unsheathed his sword, catching their attention. "You seem to think that you aren't up to the task of dealing with this new threat." He glanced at Aang and at the young monk's despairing expression. "Even the famous Avatar who took down the former Fire Lord, Ozai, thinks he isn't up to it. And if you ask me, personally, I couldn't agree more with you all."

Sasuke glanced at each face and found they had their jaws set, as if he were teasing them for their ineptitude. He continued, "But… I'm starting to wonder if you all have just given up or something. I didn't know you people to be like that. I always thought you to be the type to keep coming back for more and I respected that. So I ask where that zeal is now…." He looked at them, a slight sense of disappointment crossing his features that made Ty Lee's heart wrench.

Sasuke twirled his sword by the blade, skillfully avoiding being cut by its sharp blade.

"So how are you going to face them then? It's simple, you know. You have to get stronger, get better, and never let an opportunity pass for you to gain an advantage. You have to be more creative than enemies and more ruthless because they won't hesitate to kill you."

Before the Uchiha even finished, Ty Lee could sense the others mutinous moods, their objection to this was too clear in their eyes and movements.

"I can't kill the Avatars." Aang exclaimed, outraged. "They've done so much for me…it wouldn't be right. There is always a way to handle things without killing them."

"I agree." Sokka interjected, angrily. "Our enemy brought back many people that meant a lot to us. You can't order us to kill them again." There were murmurs of assent but Sasuke didn't seem fazed.

"You don't know anything about caring for someone!" Katara added. "I doubt you have ever cared for anyone but yourself. You don't understand."

Suki kept silent, biting down on her lip, thinking that Sasuke might have a good reason for what he said. The guy always had a good reason for anything he did. As for him not caring about anybody, she had to disagree with that. She'd seen him before he collapsed, taking out the two bells and looking at them wistfully, as if he regretted doing something but was too late to take it all back. Iroh's words at the hot air balloon still rang in her ears when she thought about the Uchiha. She glanced at the others who kept silent and realized she wasn't the only one who believed in Sasuke.

Zuko stood there, taking in all of it but not responding as if he was waiting for Sasuke to answer the others rebukes.

And Toph just sat on the ground, realizing that Sasuke was telling the truth and that it wasn't a joke but that he was serious.

Iroh had looked on with his nephew, a hint of disapproval on his face as he looked reprovingly at Aang, Katara, and Sokka.

Then there was Ty Lee, she looked nervous at all the tension and the atmosphere; the girl hated fights, especially ones among her friends. Putting an arm around the acrobat, Suki gave a reassuring pat and the acrobat sighed.

Sasuke was getting impatient with the group's sense of honor and their not-so-well-thought-out remarks.

His eyes flashed red for the briefest second before he replied, "Listen to what you're saying. If I didn't care what happened to my comrades then I wouldn't have flying in to save you all when the fire benders had ambushed your blimp. I care about what happens to this world and what happens to you and everyone," He scanned their faces, his gaze lingering on the acrobat's, making Ty Lee flush again. "But those undead aren't really the people you know. They are just vessels for trapped spirits. It's a corpse following orders. They may seem like the real thing but it's only because the habits and attitude of the dead person are transferred to the body and all of the deceased's powers are copied."

The group seemed aghast at this new revelation. "What are you planning on having us do?" Ty Lee asked, trying to break the tension. She couldn't seem to take the angry atmosphere anymore and wanted to change the subject fast before things get really out of hand.

Sasuke smiled. "I'm gonna train you." He brought his sword up and gestured for Sokka and Suki to step up. "And training starts now. First I'll see what the swordsman and warrior-girl's got."

"How is this going to help with anything?" Sokka replied. "We're just going to get beat up and then what?"

"You're supposed to improve." Sasuke responded smoothly. "Repeated battles over and over again are supposed to make you better. You'll better understand your abilities and better adjust to any disadvantages. Also it's helpful with improving your reflexes and you might better understand your opponent. I can practically imitate any one of your styles of fighting without my ocular powers." He twirled the sword around and flipped, giving them a little distance.

Sokka glanced at Suki and she nodded. "We'll try to attack on both sides okay?" Sokka muttered. His girlfriend nodded grimly and they faced the Uchiha.

Sasuke's eyes turned red, his orbs glowing like two scarlet suns, brighter than blood. "After a week or so fighting your enemies without me, I hope to see some improvement. So I'm taking you seriously. Don't hold back, that's a bad choice. When fighting someone you don't know too well, it's always good to just give it your all and crush them before they can do anything. If you don't know their styles then don't give them the chance to use it. Unless you're confident you can win, don't size your opponent." He raised his blade and held it in a ready position then charged.

Sokka nodded to Suki and they charged at him, meeting him halfway in a clash of kicks and punches and flips, a fury of attacks so fast the others could hardly see.

He did a leg sweep which they leapt over but that was a feint. Sasuke brought his other foot up to intercept them in the air, aiming for their solar plexus but his kick met nothing. Suki flipped over him and landed behind while Sokka twisted in the air and flipped back so that he was in front of the raven-haired swordsman again.

Sasuke flipped to his feet and sliced the ground, breaking the platform as the stone floor exploded with contact to his Raiton-charged sword. He kicked off and hurled himself from one pillar to another as he threw kunai and shurikens here and there.

Suki and Sokka were soon running for their lives as the sharp throwing stars and knives whizzed through the air, nearly cutting them. Sasuke kept throwing his projectiles, aiming not at them but the areas around them. Suddenly the two came to a sudden stop when they found that they couldn't move due to the strings attached at the ends of the weapons.

Sasuke leapt in front of them but before he could say anything, Sokka's boomerang came hurtling toward him. He dodged and Sokka's trusty weapon cut them free. They circled the Uchiha, like how a predator circled an animal that it wasn't sure it could handle.

"So, you figured it out, the trick." Sasuke commented. "Good. Now all that's left is to test you're swordsmanship and your weapon of choice too." He finished as Suki brought out her metal fans and Sokka drew his sword.

Sasuke pushed forward with frightening speed and power as he hacked and slashed at the Water tribesman until it was all Sokka could do to keep him at bay. "Faster, you're movements have to be faster." A swift strike and Sokka was sent back a few paces, skidding on the ground but remained on his feet. Sasuke threw a kunai pinning Sokka's sword arm by the sleeve of his shirt to a wall and then another to pin his other arm to prevent him from escape.

Sasuke turned to Suki just as she rushed him with the metal fans spinning on her fingertips, causing a dizzying effect. He raised his kusanagi blade and made a swipe at her fans, meaning to disarm her but she blocked it, redirecting the blow to her left and continued on, charging into forward to close the distance so that he could not utilize his sword so efficiently.

She ran up a wall then pushed off and swung her foot down, meaning to drop kick him. Sasuke kicked her foot and sent her flipping back but Suki merely used that as momentum for her other kick, meaning to kick him up into the air by the neck. Sasuke flipped backward then quickly dodged under another kick and tried to kick at her other leg but the leader of the Kyoshi warriors wouldn't go down so easily as she flipped sideways and attempted to slam him to the ground but found that he had disappeared. She whipped around and swiped, her fan missing his head completely as he leapt back.

By this point, Sokka had been able to free himself from the kunai and charged the other swordsman. Sasuke parried his first blow then Sokka swung his blade in a low sweep and sasuke was forced to leap up into the air. Suki took that as an advantage and threw her fan aiming at Sasuke's wrist, meaning to stun his sword arm so disarm him.

Sasuke flipped under, he pushed off from Sokka shoulders and grabbed the fan in midair. He threw it back at Suki, aiming for her face. She caught it, but the split second blind spot was good enough. Sasuke performed a leg sweep followed by a round house kick that sent her flying to the side.

Suki flipped and regained her footing then charged again. Sokka was charging from the other direction. Sasuke leapt up and evaded to the attack at the last second.

Sasuke looked over at the others and gestured for Toph to join in. The earth bender stomped forward, assuming a ready stance. _I don't know how this is going to help us but let's see where this leads to._

She crouched into horse stance then moving to other stances as she rapidly brought forth stone blocks from the ground and hurling them at Sasuke. He leapt from one block to another as it was tossed, all the while blowing streams of fire from his mouth, aiming at the Blind Bandit, Sokka and Suki.

The stones came raining down in a fury as Sasuke dodged here and there. He sliced through one block then another in midair then flipped and slammed his palm on the ground, using earth bending to create a huge pit that opened underneath Toph's feet. The earth bender girl saw it coming though and formed a platform only to be caged in by stone bars of Sasuke's devising.

The battle went on. Sasuke would use an earth bending technique and Toph would counter it or neutralize it. Once in awhile one of them would be able to send a successful stream of attack because the other was a second off from stopping it.

_It's speed._ Ty Lee realized, as she glanced from one to the other. As sasuke parried a blow from Sokka then dodged an a pincer attack from the water tribesman and Suki before bending a variety of stone missiles that were sent hurtling at Toph only for her to redirect it at him again. _Whoever's faster wins. If you're quicker to act and quicker to respond then you have the advantage._

Looking over at the others, the Fire Nation girl realized that they had come to the same conclusion. This battle was all about speed and response time. Toph and Suki and Sokka seemed to realize that, too; their attacks becoming more confident and their timing more precise until it almost seemed the three of them were fighting Sasuke on equal footing.

Katara was soon prompted to join in, bending a vast amount of water as she hurled water and ice attacks, throwing ice discs that sliced even stone blocks into pieces and hundreds of ice spears that stabbed at Sasuke but missing only by a hairs breadth.

Sasuke blew wide, arcing flames that melted the ice projectiles only to meet more stone blocks hurled his way by Toph and close combat attacks from both Sokka and Suki.

From the sidelines Ty Lee saw Sasuke's eyes flash red again and then he assumed the same, identical stance as Toph and they bended stone blocks in unison. Sasuke's missiles battered against Toph's but whereas Toph's stones were just discarded, Sasuke's blocks reassembled and went zooming back, like homing devices. This gave the acrobat a little insight as to what his powers were but it still puzzled her as to how he could have such an unnatural power as perfect mimicry.

Zuko and Iroh joined in an all out war. Sasuke bent a huge mass amount of water from the river that ran below and sent it crashing toward them except it was stopped by Katara turning it into ice. Then Sasuke returned it to its liquid form and formed spikes that were sent crashing at them once again only to be evaporated by Zuko's giant fire ball.

The bending went on, each side neutralizing the other's attacks and launching one of their own. The only thing was that no one seemed to be winning as everyone canceled each other's moves out. Sasuke was urging everyone to move and ac faster and faster all the while his movements and speed increased little by little. It was if he were teaching them in stages, every time they matched his speed, he'd step up the game a notch and the group would be overwhelmed for a time until they managed to catch up again.

Bringing out his twin Dao blades, Zuko forced Sasuke into a close combat with swords flashing here and there. Sometimes they would use the beams of sunlight as an advantage by reflecting into the other's eyes to blind them temporarily as they fought with such a fury of power and speed, the others steeped back a bit, not wanting to get caught up in the flurry of swings and slashes and kicks and other creative attacks. It was like seeing two storms battling each other; their thunder and lightning were the clanging and ringing of steel and the heavy blows and light ones like the rain that splashes down to earth. It was an eerie rhythm that was soon broken when the others snapped back from their trances and returned to the fray.

Soon the gang was exhausted and they sat there catching their breath as Sasuke fought the more active members. Zuko went into a furious number of moves, sending fire trailing after Sasuke and sometimes singing his clothes as he flipped into the air to meet the Fire Lord's kicks and punches and slashes, his twin Dao blades flashing as the two swords met Sasuke's kusanagi blade repeatedly. The two fought furiously, trying to gain the upper hand but both were unable to.

Aang bent fire and water and earth and wind all around him in a chaos of elements, creating a fury tempest that formed a protective barrier around him in a radius of several meters. He sent the rocks speeding toward Sasuke faster than the eye could see and only the raven-haired swordsman's reflexes saved him from the blows. The water was turned to needles that zoomed toward the Uchiha with a swishing sound as if cutting the very air apart. The fire balls were hurled at high speeds and the wind picked up to a point where it was almost cutting. He was glowing in the Avatar state and making Sasuke's life difficult for what seemed like an eternity before he lost focus and returned to his normal state, leaving the young monk breathless.

When Ty Lee stepped into the fight, she was the only one not exhausted to the point of collapse. Iroh was making jasmine tea by the ruined water fountain and Sokka lay face down on the ground, utterly spent. Sasuke's sword had been disarmed by Sokka and Suki as the others had distracted him. His cloak lay discarded several feet from them, used as a medium for his doppelganger illusion.

Still, even without his sword, he was formidable, his martial arts fast and precise and deadly. Ty Lee flipped in the air then flung herself from pillar to pillar as he had done. Sasuke followed suit and the two fought in the air. Sasuke swung his foot to meet Ty Lee's shin but was met by thin air. He swung his other leg through and the kick brushed the acrobat's arm but no serious hits.

The Fire Nation girl tried to hit a pressure point but failed as Sasuke just enough so that her hand slammed into his stomach, already tensed for impact so he didn't sustain any real damage.

They landed a few yards from each other. Sasuke's eyes slightly widened by her hit, he had never really fought Ty Lee before. Back when he had sparred with the rest she was always sitting back and looking on as the others took their turns at him. Now, he knew her to be almost as good as he was in martial arts. "You're good, better than all the rest."

The acrobat smiled at Sasuke's surprise, pleased that she could impress him. Ty Lee's stance coiled into an imitation of a snake as she faced Sasuke with a determined expression. Sasuke in turn imitated her stance with ease, not even bothering with his Sharingan.

_Snake style martial arts? Two can play at that game…_

Ty Lee's spear-like hand slashed at one of Sasuke's pressure points but was met by a snake palm in turn. The two fought it out, giving it their all as they attacked and dodged and attacked again, and their light feet barely touching the ground. It was a dance; Ty Lee thought musing as her body moved of its own accord.

"Look at him go at her!" Zuko exclaimed, laughing. The acrobat stumbled for a second then regained her balance, flushing. She tried to jab him again but he moved aside, barely dodging the hit.

"Yeah, he really wants some of that!" Suki called out, teasingly from the side. Ty Lee's face was turning pink again as she tried to concentrate on the fight and not on the comments being yelled out from the sidelines.

"Now, now, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't rush things. They'll get together on their own time." Iroh commented, mildly as he stirred his Jasmine tea.

Sasuke looked over at the others to see them smirking at the two of them. _So they're back to normal now…good just so long as they don't irritate me._

He smirked at their jokes and lively teasing, causing Ty Lee to blush deeper, taking his expression as a flirty invitation. She gave a shy yet reproachful smile, as they continued to spar. Sasuke gestured for her to focus as he jabbed at Ty Lee's arm, trying to paralyze it, but was met with thin air yet again.

Ty Lee brushed the distraction away for later times when she could think without having to evade pressure-point-aimed jabs. Still, the idea of the raven-haired swordsman taking a liking to her was a pleasant thought. She was almost tempted to just give up and then sit around and think it over but that would probably disappoint Sasuke and she didn't like that.

The Uchiha continued on, lashing out at an opening but was met by nothing as Ty Lee spun sideways and lashed out with a swift kick to the face that Sasuke, having been deep in thought, barely managed to stop as he crossed his arms in an X form and blocked the hit. But that was the first, Ty Lee twisted and her second kick connected with one of Sasuke's pressure point just as he successfully jabbed at her arm.

Sasuke's arm went numb and fell to his side, unable to move, wincing he jabbed the point and sighed as he moved his arm again, testing it. Glancing over to Ty Lee, he found that she was doing the same. She had a slight pout as she jabbed at her point but otherwise didn't complain or speak up.

They continued, Sasuke's speed picked up, taking the fight up a notch once again, but Ty Lee matched it, blocking and attacking just as fast. They were a blur as they danced around the ruins of the air temples and leapt from pillar to pillar as they fought. The intensity of their strange dance grew more intense and the swiftness of their attacks grew swifter as they jabbed at each other. Both their bodies coiling around like a serpent, both imitating the movements of a snake as they lashed out at each other.

Sasuke managed to paralyze an arm just as Ty Lee paralyzed his left leg. He ignored the numbness and continued, shifting his weight onto his right as he grabbed onto a thin pillar and swung upward using his momentum to send him flying toward the acrobat just as she leapt from her high perch on the top of a giant stone statue of some famous old air bender. He managed to jab her leg in turn as she disabled an arm.

They tumbled to earth unable to stop their dissent. Sasuke twisted so he'd take the impact as they hit the ground with a thud. "Oof!" Ty Lee muttered as she was slammed into the Uchiha. Sasuke grunted but other than that kept silent when he landed on his back on the flat stony ground.

The group hurried toward them but stopped at the scene. Suki's expression was torn between concern and amusement, her mouth twisting as if she didn't know whether she should laugh or what. Zuko was laughing openly at the two's compromising positions while his uncle tried to calm him all the while saying things like, "Now, don't laugh. It was bound to happen, Zuko. Fate is a fickle yet funny thing." This didn't help at all of course and only fed fuel to the fire.

Aang and Katara had expressions similar to that of Suki's: faces struck between horror and concern and amusement. Toph just stood there, smirking and Sokka…was rolling around laughing but also making a fool out of himself at the same time, in Sasuke's opinion.

"You were able to beat all of us and those undead guys back then but you tied with a girl." The water tribesman's laughter ended with a smack and an "Ow!" as Suki and Katara ganged up on him, glaring.

"Oh? So what's that supposed to mean? Are you saying that girls aren't as powerful as any of those guys?" Suki cracked her knuckles menacingly as Sokka cringed, sweating rivers as he stuttered out an apology.

"Yeah, I wanna know what's up with that, too?" Toph yelled as she stomped over and grabbed Sokka by the neck of his shirt and shook him furiously. "C'mon, tough guy, what were you saying?"

The Uchiha sat up, with the acrobat in his lap, and began to jab at his numb limbs, fixing their numbness. He repeated this process to Ty Lee seeing as she was too stunned to do anything then lifted her off him carefully before standing up and helping the flustered Fire Nation girl up. "Let's call it a day." Sasuke spoke quickly; he looked a little flushed himself. It wasn't like him to land on his back; he must be out of it after a week of sleep and nothing else. Silently, he made a mental note not to let this happen again.

He went over to retrieve his sword and then his cloak and sighed, contentedly. "Training will continue tomorrow. As of now, we'll sleep."

The others nodded and together they headed back to their cave to rest, in high spirits. And for once sasuke didn't feel annoyed by their happiness as they teased him and Ty Lee. The aforementioned acrobat flushed at their comments and whined about how they were being mean to her for teasing her about an accident. They laughed about Sokka getting beat up by his girlfriend and the other girls beating him up. While Sokka tried to keep what little pride he had as everyone chewed him out. Surprisingly, sasuke didn't join in on the ridicule this time; his mind was far away, wondering about other things.

Sasuke sat down on his make-shift bed and unstrapped his sword from his waist as he laid down to rest, thinking over his reaction to the acrobat. He didn't know what made her different from all the other girls he met but somehow, she was harder to understand. She was more likable than all the others, girly yet refined and tough when situations called for it. He looked over at the others huddled by the camp fire and met the acrobat's gaze. He smiled and went over to them.

Things were different here. Hell, everything was. And it wasn't all that bad.

…

**There, I decided that since this is supposed to be a Sasuke x Ty Lee paring story that I should add more of that in. Criticisms are welcome but not flames. Please none of that. I hope you review and again sorry for not updating faster! 'Till next time…**


	14. Lost

**After a long, unexpected Hiatus, here is the next chapter. Sorry for the lateness.**

…

CHAPTER XIV

"He was here I assure you!" the dog barked at the white haired ninja. "His scent is still fresh."

"Right, right. But why was he at a beach?" the aforementioned ninja scratched his head.

"Your former comrade is very peculiar isn't he, Naruto? Didn't know he was that kinda guy." A pale ninja who was painting a bird from his scroll said blankly. "Is he a player?"

"Oi! Don't talk about Sasuke like that!" 'Naruto' retorted but added with a bit of a resentful tone, "Well, you're probably right about the player thing…" He didn't get to finish because he was clobbered by a pink haired girl.

"He might have taken a boat or something and went into the ocean. Though I don't get why since the villagers and all the maps say that there's nothing across from the ocean. They'll just come right back on the other side of the mainland…"

"Whatever, let's get one of those ships or maybe one of those flying things."

…

"Oi, wake him up with a kiss, Karin..."

"Shut Up!"

"Calm down, you two. I think he's waking."

Oi, Sasuke! Get up already!" There was a sharp pain that came from his side.

"Hey, don't kick him!"

"What? I just nudged him is all…"

"What's going on?" Sasuke sat up, slowly, rubbing his eyes. He looked around to find Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo crouching next to him. "Huh? Everyone…"

"You've been out for a while now, Sasuke." Suigetsu grinned. "I was starting to wonder whether you were dead!"

"And it would be your fault if he was!" Karin shot at the rogue Mist ninja. "That kick was totally uncalled for! Sasuke-kun's still recovering from his wounds after all."

"So now what?" Juugo asked intently, helping Sasuke to his feet. "Should we continue to Konoha?"

"Huh?"

"We were going to visit your friends remember?" Karin reminded him. "Naruto and the rest invited you over to watch the Chuunin Exams and all."

"Is…is that so?"

"What's up, man?" Suigetsu asked, looking amused. "You seem a little out of it. If you let your guard down someone might kill you…"

"As if!" Karin punched him.

"Ow, that hurt!"

"It was supposed to."

"We were heading to Konoha…huh?"

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Juugo asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"I don't know…" He frowned and massaged his temples furiously. His head hurt. "I had this…dream."

"A dream, huh?" Suigetsu said, uncaringly. "I dream a lot, too. Of killing the seven swordsmen and taking their swords for instance…"

"Nobody asked you."

Sasuke ignored Karin and Suigetsu's bickering and addressed Juugo. "Where are we?"

"Who knows?" Juugo's reply seemed oddly eerie. "We could be anywhere…You were the one who led us here."

"I was?"

"Hm."

He pondered over this. Then, "I had a weird dream."

"What was it about?"

"It was about this other place." He paused trying to describe to them. "There were these people there that could play with the elements like ninjas but more in tune with nature. Benders, I think, they called themselves…" He scratched his head. "Everything seemed so real. But now I wonder…It was a dream after all, huh?"

Juugo stared in front of him over at the shifting landscape. Now that Sasuke had a proper look around, everything seemed kind of blurry. Maybe it was the heat of the sun…

"Maybe it was real." His comrade gave a slight shrug. "There are a lot of things that seem like a dream but are real. And others that seem real but are actually not. Like this…" He gestured around him.

"Whoa, that was pretty deep." Suigetsu drawled as he dodged another punch from Karin.

Juugo ignored him and turned to Sasuke. "Are you sure you're not dreaming now, Sasuke?"

"What?"

…

Sasuke opened his eyes blearily to searing sunlight. "A dream…"

He looked around him and saw that he had been sleeping among clouds. He did a double take. The scenery didn't change. He was atop an open ship deck sailing empty space instead of water. He went to the side and stared down. They were pretty high up…He could see islands dotting the mainland but only barely. If there weren't the occasional flares of active volcanoes a normal person wouldn't even be able to know they were there.

"Hahaha, never thought I could see you that confused ever." Came a bell-like voice. He turned to see Ty Lee sitting across from him. Staring around again, he took in that they were on the deck of an airship of sorts. There were huge rings full of fire at every interval in a straight line across the ship, pumping hot air into the colossal balloon above them.

"Where am I?"

"We're just about clear of the Fire Nation border." Iroh replied climbing up onto the deck. "You've been out for a couple weeks again. We dealt with most of the enemies around the Fire Nation's borders and now we're heading over to land of spirits where Aang learned his anti-bending."

"I was out again, huh…"

"Geez, you shouldn't overexert yourself too much!" Katara exclaimed.

"We should start calling you Mister Comatose from now on." Ty Lee teased taking a tray of food to him. "You always seem to be in one after all."

"Right." Sasuke sighed, smirking. "I guess I should stop that." Then a question suddenly popped up in his mind. "How have you been dealing with the undead?"

"Undead?" Sokka asked, curious, abandoning his position at the ship's prowl.

"Those guys that won't die…" Sasuke explained slowly as if he were talking to a child. "You know…" The girls were trying not to laugh.

"Oh, those!" Iroh exclaimed, unknowingly breaking Sokka from a heated and possibly stupid retort. "We used this ritual bending of sorts…" He paused. "Well, that's what I call it. Would you like some tea?"

"No, thanks." He held up a hand refusing the cup. It was pushed into it anyway. He sighed. "Ritual Bending, huh?" Probably this world's equivalent of a sealing juts no doubt he thought. "Anyone can do this?"

"Why, yes." Iroh replied.

"It's really interesting." Ty Lee piped up. "It's like bending spirits or at least summoning them."

"And banishing them." Aang finished landing on the deck, having flown in using his staff/hang-glider. "I discovered it after visiting the spirit world a couple of times. Learned it from a turtle there…"

"A turtle...I see." Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to shake off the remnants of his fatigue. "When will we get to the land of the spirits?"

"I don't know…" Aang said, troubled. "When I visit, it sort of just happens…"

"Maybe its just an avatar thing, eh?" Katara wondered.

"I don't know. I was able to bring Appa and Momo with me though."

"We're not animals." was Sasuke's curt reply.

"R-right, hahaha," the monk scratched his head sheepishly. "Maybe it's just an Avatar/animal thing…"

"We should try to at least make contact with it nonetheless." Zuko chipped in, as he came from below deck. "Everything's fixed now. The airship didn't get hit much after our fight with the pursuers."

"For now, let's just get some rest. To be honest, I'm beat." Suki yawned, stretching lazily. "You might want to get something to eat before that though, Sasuke." She glanced him over. "Although it doesn't show, I can bet your body is weakening from all those days comatose."

Sasuke stared down at his arms, frowning. He couldn't really argue the matter since he really did feel weak. He grunted as he got to his feet and steadily made his way below deck. Grabbing some food at the supplies room, he continued to follow the rest to the bedrooms.

He looked into a few of the rooms with doors ajar and found them to be empty. He didn't really want to believe what he initially thought but it seemed that the Avatar and his gang were the only ones aboard. They must've left the front lines in order to train themselves. But…was that really alright? This world to his knowledge…was pretty weak. Kabuto with his hordes of resurrected ninjas and benders alike would be a very formidable enemy. To just leave the fray in a situation like this would probably mean that they were desperate. More desperate than they were letting on.

"This ritual bending…will it change the tides of the war?" Sasuke thought aloud, gazing up at the ceiling's dim lights. From his peripheral vision he could see a couple of figures stiffen. So they really were desperate…

"We hope…" Zuko replied grimly. "But even with that Aang was near death when the enemy retreated. Those people really did a number on us."

"Hmmm…" They had finally arrived at one of the empty rooms.

"This is yours." Suki said. "We decided to have the girls have one side of the hall and the boys to have the other."

"My room is right across from yours so if you need anything…" Ty Lee chimed in. The others looked at her with conspiratorial gazes. She flushed. "Not like that." She tried to correct, waving her hands in front of her as if to clear a vision.

…

After awhile things died down into silence, the group had all entered their rooms to catch some sleep and all that could be heard was the wind blowing outside and the creaking of airship. Sasuke didn't feel tired. He's slept far more than he had actually wanted to so he took the time to wander around the halls. He found himself above deck again. It was night but he could clearly make out the rippling of the sea beneath the ship from the moonlight. There was a sense of eerie calm again. That calm that was always followed by dread. Too quiet. Too peaceful.

His mind retraced a few steps back to his dream. It reminded him of his world. Perhaps it was telling him to go back. Something may have happened. He didn't know.

He let the thought die. It was useless to ponder over dreams. Like this one, they tended to not make any sense. They were just fragments formed full of the sub-conscience's lost memory.

More importantly was this weird island they were heading to. How long could they stay before the front line crumbles? A week? A few days?

"Ah, so you can't sleep either." He turned to the voice to see the Fire Lord Zuko was walking up to him hands in his pockets. "Thinking about the island?"

"Yeah." He turned to look over the railings at the dark sea below. "Wondering whether it's worth the trip and the time."

"Most of us are. But it's probably our only hope. The island gave Aang the power to take away a person's power. Who knows what it can give us. An edge at least…to fight the enemies."

"There is nothing to be gained for me. I am not a bender or even a person of this world. I don't need some power up."

"Probably not." Zuko conceded. "But we decided to take you with us not so you could get something from the island but to heal. You've been straining yourself a lot recently. Pulling off large scale attacks and all."

"I see." He paused. "I hope we make it in time."

A mist was beginning to cover the entirety of the sea around them. As Sasuke looked closer, he could've sworn that the swirling vapor were ethereal bodies and not just an aspect of Mother Nature. There was a thump to his side. His eyes flew toward the general direction in the darkness. Zuko's unconscious form lay there. He had collapsed for no reason. Was there somebody else on the ship? He checked the Fire lord's vitals…alive.

He ran below deck, carrying Zuko over his shoulder. He lay the teen at the bottom of the stairs and continued. There should be some people over at the front, overlooking the ship's control. He remembered that old man and that water girl making their way over there. There should be monitors there, too. Something felt wrong. He didn't sense anybody had entered the ship… Was it the mist?

Sasuke found Iroh and Katara knocked out, too. Mist had completely fogged over the portholes. On the ship's monitors, there he could see that there was some kind of concentrated hurricane coming their way. This was bad. He glanced over at the controls. Even if he did know how to direct the airship away, they wouldn't make it in time. The turbulent storm was coming their way fast.

The ship lurched sideways, furniture and supplies were hurled around. Sasuke grunted, keeping his footing.

Besides that, what was up with everyone besides him going unconscious? It had to be the mist right? A part of him wanted to believe that to be so…but he couldn't quite shake the feeling. The door suddenly slammed open, and Ty Lee, Suki, and Sokka came crashing through. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise. What…?

"Toph and Aang wouldn't wake up no matter what we did!" Sokka explained through the confusion, panting, his eyes flitting around bewildered. His eyes made his way to Iroh and Katara, then to Sasuke. "W-What happened to them?!" Anger started to cross his features. "Did you do this? I knew you were bad news from the start! Just what did you do to them?!" He reached for his sword.

"Calm down," Suki bonked him on the head. "Sasuke's saved our asses many times already. You think he did this?"

"Just what is going on here?" Ty Lee asked, hands to her heart. She looked lost.

"I don't get this either. I was on deck when that guy Zuko suddenly collapsed. I thought it was the mist. But it doesn't seem so."

"Wait!" Sokka's eyes widened. He hurried over to Katara and pried her eyes open for a moment. Her eyes were glowing slightly. "Thinking back on it, Aang was like this whenever he went into the Spirit World. If all of the ones who have collapsed show the same signs as this it would mean that they've all been sucked into the Spirit World."

"But why not us?" Suki asked.

"We're not benders. So I guess we can't cross over there." Sokka relied after awhile, rubbing the back of his head, thinking.

"Then why not Sasuke?"

"I'm not a bender either, remember? My powers are completely different than that of this world's." Sasuke closed his eyes. Another lurch of the ship and everyone braced themselves. A sudden jolt…like a sudden premonition…hit Sasuke. He glanced over at the one of the monitor's again. The storm was almost upon them. "I don't think we can stay on this ship anymore. We're jumping overboard." He grabbed Iroh and hauled him over his shoulder. "Quick, get the others, we're getting out of here. That storm doesn't look too good. It doesn't look norma-" He didn't get to finish because there was a feeling as if a meteor had slammed into the hull of the ship.

Everyone was sent tumbling. A feeling of weightlessness. The engine cut. The ship plunged down.

…

**I had to change the majority of the story from what I had originally intended but even that is not much of an excuse for the late update so I apologize. DX Anyway,until next time~! See ya!**


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